# Why does Starfleet insist they are "not military"?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-starfleet-insist-they-are-not-military/922023>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [October 2, 2020, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-starfleet-insist-they-are-not-military/922023 "2020-10-02T11:05:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 7

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-starfleet-insist-they-are-not-military/922023/121 "2020-10-13T19:37:25Z")

</div>

> [@bump](#):
>
> That’s the catch though; is there any proof that it’s at all realistic? Every utopian commune that people have tried thus far has failed, or warped into something less than the original ideals.

That’s because someone has to do the work of providing the basic necessities, and if no one wants to do it, the ones who are forced to do it live in a dystopia.

In a true post scarcity, that shouldn’t be an issue.

> [@bump](#):
>
> Seems to me that one problem with that would be that it would be constantly malleable; you’d run the problem of someone who fixes something that breaks intermittently would be relatively unvalued until it breaks, then he’d be super-valued, and then go back to unvalued.

If something needs fixing, then there is always somewhere where it needs fixing. I only value a plumber when my pipes are acting up, but that doesn’t mean that the plumber isn’t valued every day by _someone_.

If it is something that only needs to be fixed for the entire civilization once in a while, then that becomes an intellectual exercise for many to be involved in, and then go on to find and fix other problems.

> [@bump](#):
>
> I tend to be of a more pessimistic bent; I tend to think that thousands of years of history show that humans act in fairly predictable and unfortunately, reprehensible ways when push comes to shove.

Then you get rid of the pushing and the shoving. A large amount of “reprehensible” behavior is rooted and justified in the existential concern of meeting one’s basic needs. If you are not 100% secure in your ability to maintain your cushy standard of living, then many things are seen as a potential threat. If your lifestyle is in fact guaranteed, then there are less reasons to be concerned about someone else getting something too.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\
**Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-starfleet-insist-they-are-not-military/922023/122 "2020-10-14T17:40:03Z")

</div>

> [@LSLGuy](#):
>
> In the context of ST there could certainly have been an off-camera 2-century experiment in some combo of eugenics and genetic engineering aimed at breeding psychopathology & sociopathology out of the populace.

KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\
**Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-starfleet-insist-they-are-not-military/922023/123 "2020-10-14T17:53:16Z")

</div>

And if worse comes to worst, they have the technology to edit people’s memories and personalities.

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-starfleet-insist-they-are-not-military/922023.md?page=6)