Can you ‘live long and prosper’ by learning economics from Star Trek? Or is that ‘highly illogical’?
- Written by John Hawkins, Head, Canberra School of Government, University of Canberra
It might seem worlds away from the Earth we know. But can Star Trek teach us anything about the economics of our own society?
Set in the mid-23rd century, the original Star Trek series told the story of the starship Enterprise. Its crew were led by the human Captain James Kirk and the half-Vulcan Mr Spock.
From post-scarcity societies to hyper-capitalist alien cultures, the now legendary sci-fi franchise the show spawned offers surprisingly rich material for economists and curious minds alike.
As we wind down for the holiday season, let’s take a light-hearted journey into one of pop culture’s most enduring sci-fi universes.
A society without money?
There is macroeconomics in Star Trek, but not as we know it. Scarcity seems much less of an issue in the Star Trek world.
That’s because, within the interstellar government known as The Federation, machines called replicators generate food and other objects. Money is claimed to be no longer used.
Some scholars interpret Star Trek’s relative absence of money in Marxian terms as a step towards a classless society.
There are, however, passing references to “credits”. In one episode, a villain is accused of having used counterfeit currency to purchase a ship.
In another, Kirk describes a pile of diamonds as an “incredible fortune in stones”. It seems even in the 23rd century, money still has some uses.
Read more: If AI takes most of our jobs, money as we know it will be over. What then?
Logic and emotions
In one early episode, the engineer Montgomery “Scotty” Scott famously tells Captain Kirk he “can’t change the laws of physics”.
But the laws of economics also still operate. Despite material wealth, everyone still only has 24 hours in their day and has to make choices.
There are still what economists call “opportunity costs”: doing one thing means having less time for another. So, we can learn about economics from Star Trek, just as we can from Star Wars.
Underpinning many classical economic theories was the concept of “homo economicus” or the “economic man”. This is the idea that humans are rational and self-interested and will always make decisions that maximise their personal benefit.
Spock seems to fit this description. He is unemotional, or at least suppresses his emotions. He prides himself on always making logical decisions.
The character Spock became famous for his logical approach to almost everything.More recently, however, the field of behavioural economics has challenged this view of human beings as perfectly rational.
It argues human beings are more like Kirk – we try to make good decisions but are sometimes swayed by impatience or influenced by a wide range of emotions. Behavioural economists are trying to predict what Kirk would do, rather than Spock.
Hyper-capitalist aliens
Across the entire franchise, viewers are introduced to a variety of alien races. They are at different levels of technological progress – but not that different.
One of the most vivid illustrations of economic behaviour comes from the Ferengi, who feature prominently in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine series.
The Ferengi are a mercantile alien race whose culture revolves around the accumulation of wealth and profit. They aren’t members of the “post-money” Federation.
They live by a codified set of business maxims, the “Rules of Acquisition”. These rules reflect their deeply ingrained profit-seeking ethos. Some of the more memorable include:
Rule 10: greed is eternal
Rule 21: never place friendship above profit
Rule 33: it never hurts to suck up to the boss
Rule 62: the riskier the road, the greater the profit.
These rules encapsulate the Ferengi’s relentless pursuit of profit, and their efforts to increase economic rent through various means including manipulation of market and institutional structures.
The Ferengi are depicted as hyper-capitalist, profiteering aliens.An unscrupulous boss
A prime example is Quark, the archetypal Ferengi who owns a popular bar and restaurant. Quark exploits his monopsony power – being the sole employer in a niche market – to underpay staff and impose harsh working conditions.
This is a practical demonstration of Rule 211:
Employees are the rungs on the ladder of success. Don’t hesitate to step on them.
But in one episode, Quark’s employees go on strike, prompting him to use underhanded tactics to suppress collective bargaining and maintain control.
This storyline mirrors real-world labour market dynamics and the tension between capital and labour.
Quark’s brother Rom encourages employees to form a union.Monopoly power
In the series Star Trek: Voyager, we see how access to key technology and asymmetric information can lead to monopoly power and exploitation.
In the episode “False Profits”, two Ferengi stranded on a primitive planet use replicator technology to produce goods, presenting themselves as divine sages.
Their technological advantage allows them to extract maximum rent from the unsuspecting locals.
One possible future?
Star Trek has also become a shorthand for one possible impact of innovation. Futurist and tech entrepreneur Jerry Kaplan has contrasted two futures for humanity.
One is a Star Trek world where technology’s benefits are widely shared. The other is a Terminator-style future where self-aware artificial intelligence (AI) tries to wipe out humanity.
Where exactly we’re headed remains the subject of debate. But from Spock’s logic to Quark’s scheming, Star Trek reminds us that even in the far reaches of space, economics still matters.
Authors: John Hawkins, Head, Canberra School of Government, University of Canberra
