Best and Worst Prime Directive Justification Episodes
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Yeah, but that's like a few thousand years against the tens of millions that ordinarily pass between major problems. If they're that common, odds are they'd be hit (repeatedly) during the several billion year developmental cycle, so that they have a difficult time raising up much complex life at all, let alone space gods.
It would also suggest that Earth is just extremely lucky.
It would also suggest that Earth is just extremely lucky.
They are, I mean can you imagine what would have happened if it had been a Romulan scout vessel that detected the Phoenix's warp signature? Or heck, even the Andorians or Tellarites?
And also, it's more the HUMANS who were lucky since extinction level events have happened on Earth. Just not when humans were around.
And also, it's more the HUMANS who were lucky since extinction level events have happened on Earth. Just not when humans were around.
I see no particular reason to think that the Vulcans were behaving any better than the Andorians of Tellarites during the 21st and 22nd Centuries. More than likely, a nearly identical situation would have played out -- with the possibility that the Andorian or Tellarite governments, not being under the influence of Romulan agents, might not have tried to hinder Earth's expansion quite so much.
Well, we've never seen enough of the Tellarites in canon to know what they'd do but I'd imagine the Andorians may have tried to build humanity up and "educate" them against the Vulcans. Effectively make a Vassal State with more freedoms.
Vulcans, well they'd always been condescending jerks (and yes, ENT was not a bad portrayal of them).
Vulcans, well they'd always been condescending jerks (and yes, ENT was not a bad portrayal of them).
I don't think that's a fair assessment of the Andorians. We certainly never saw them do it to any other world -- indeed, on Coridan, it was the Vulcans who were propping up a puppet government, and the Andorians who were covertly backing a popular insurgency.
And given the sheer amount of influence the Vulcan government had over the United Earth government -- holding off launching a single starship for decades, inhibiting research into warp drive, getting their ambassadors present in internal UE Starfleet hearings, controlling United Earth foreign policy in "Broken Bow" -- I'm not exactly sure how you can argue that, even if the Andorians were to create a vassal state out of Earth, that would be any different than what the Vulcans did to Earth.
The Vulcans were being condescending controlling jerks, yes. But I wonder if the Andorians would have basically made the humans into their own soldiers to fight other races (the Vulcans) with.
Either way, point stands that Earth was lucky compared to other "First encounters with Aliens" stories.
Either way, point stands that Earth was lucky compared to other "First encounters with Aliens" stories.
*shrugs* It's possible, but I see no evidence to think it's likely. We never saw the Andorians subjugate other races or establish puppet governments the way we did the Vulcans.
You can, it just needs to be a very big ship. Realistically, any interstellar military should already have people-movers of sufficient size, simply to deal with the issue of landing the massive number of troops required to successfully occupy a hostile world, or defend a friendly world from occupation. Star Trek isn't particularly realistic in that regard, as it's militaries are all based on establishing space superiority to the exclusion of all else, which is useful if you want to destroy a civilization, but not so much if you want to control it, or liberate it from control.
It wouldn't be difficult to engineer one, given Federation technology, or even particularly expensive, as it wouldn't need much in the way of personal comforts. They simply havn't due to the fact that landing troops en mass is not a part of their military doctrine, or the doctrine of any other Alpha Quadrent power for some reson.
Anwar I have to point out one problem with your saving the lesser races will ruin the Feeration's economy argument and that is
What economy they use frakkin replicators for everything and they don't use money. So what economy are you talking about. Also if Starfleet didn't put some nice defenses to protect their planets then they DESERVE to be conqured for being a bunch of arrogent asses.
What economy they use frakkin replicators for everything and they don't use money. So what economy are you talking about. Also if Starfleet didn't put some nice defenses to protect their planets then they DESERVE to be conqured for being a bunch of arrogent asses.
How come? It seems relatively easy to control a population from orbit. Unless they're suicidally stubborn, which we cannot expect even Klingons to be...
The replicators still need power and raw materials to be built and covert stuff in the first place. People don't get it if they really think the replicators are 100% free of charge/resource cost. Also they still need the personnel to man the ships and the scientist for the outposts and resettlement projects. And planetary defenses only go so far without armed fleets.
So it still stands, the Feds would never be able to keep up the numbers needed for the Galactic Nanny State and protect the Federation.
Actually, A Piece of the Action works as a justification episode just by the extremely obvious implication: Kirk and Spock had been on the planet for all of ten hours before they decided to unite the planet under the iron fist of the local gangster Bella Oxmyx and them sail off into the sunset feeling awfully pleased with themselves.
And yet anyone who has ever studied Earth history has a pretty good idea of what happened the moment Enterprise left orbit: more likely than not, Sigma Iota degenerated into a kind of global fascism with Bella presiding over a stack of self-interested plutocrats united ONLY by their mutual exploitation of the rest of their brethren. Best case scenario, Sigma Iota turns into Myanmar with Bella in charge of a Junta; worst case scenario, global civil war.
Why do you keep insisting that the Federation would suddenly and radically send all of it's ships out searching for all planets in all the galaxy that need saving? Why would they at least not limit it to their existing exploration efforts? Do you really think every civilization they find would be facing an extinction level event? Your assigning this change in policy with the the same level of urgency as the shift in U.S. policy after Pearl Harbor. Even if a change like this occurred, without a "face" to the enemy the sense of urgency would taper off after a period and more rational policy would take hold. The federation government is smart enough to know if they tried an overreaching policy like you are indicating, they would quickly cripple the government and end up not being able to help anyone.
To give an analogy:
A hospital can save a baby's life, but that doesn't mean you see hospitals flying doctors to all parts of the globe taking responsibility for every baby they can find on the planet. They do however try to save the lives of every baby in the facility.
What's fascinating about the Prime Directive is that it's hard to come up with an adequate analogy, even though scenarios involving the PD invite all kinds of comparisons to real world events.
For example, take your hospital analogy. Doctors may not run all over the planet, but they are required to treat every ill patient that comes into the hospital, not just the terminally ill ones. That's especially true since relatively minor complaints can erode a patient's health over time, leading to life-threatening illness.
Starfleet is already running all over the galaxy. Its mission is exploration. Where does it draw the line when intervening? Only when a species is about to experience an extinction level event? That seems pretty arbitrary, especially since it would often be hard to predict when extinction is actually imminent.
It might very well be possible to recognize, for example, that internal strife within a species is preventing them from developing the necessary tech to deal with an extinction level event that the Federation can predict will happen at some point in the not-too-distant future. Should the Federation intervene to put a stop to the conflict and attempt to get the species on the right track to deal with the event? Or would it be better to wait around and see what happens, then intervene at the last moment if necessary? How many individuals would have died in the interim?
Is it really the individual lives that are valued, or is it just the idea of extinction that is repellent? Is it the culture? But that is exactly what the PD is designed to protect.
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Seeing how evacuating and resettling an entire species would have been the catalyst for the Galactic Nanny State in the first place, it would be the precedent it was formed on. As Boraal was a random planet outside Fed space they would have to actively search out other planets within and without the Federation to do the same with, no matter how destructive this would be on the Federation itself. Anything less would be not living up to the standard Nikolai created.
Or they could oh I don't know limit it to evacuating the planets they just come accross that are haveing an extinction level event.
Forgot the "nanny state" concept for a minute... the reason the Federation doesn't interfere is because "self determination" is one of their most fundamental values. It's as sacred t them as, say, free speech or due process.
Think of it in terms of free speech. Someone used to a dictatorial regime (Cuba, for example) could make a pretty convincing case from examples in his own memory that sometimes you have to suspend free speech completely in order to protect the integrity of the state and preserve public order; people who criticize the government should be considered traitors, because if they're willing to challenge authority with words who else how else they might challenge it? People who gush about "Free speech" are just ivorty tower chowderheads, right?
If control of one's own destiny really is a sacred right, then it takes precedence over all other considerations, even morality. Like the right to free speech, your moral objection to blasphemy doesn't compromise my right to say blasphemous things.
To that end, I do disagree with some interpretations of the prime directive. There is no real way to determine the "natural" course of evolution for a particular planet, therefore there shouldn't be any issues against contact. Cultural contamination, maybe, but there should be procedures in place that allow for peaceful and non-disruptive contact. An approach that favors normalization of relations would be ideal, something that would eventually lead indigenous peoples to think of alien life forms merely as "foreigners" and not be so spooked.
Think of it in terms of free speech. Someone used to a dictatorial regime (Cuba, for example) could make a pretty convincing case from examples in his own memory that sometimes you have to suspend free speech completely in order to protect the integrity of the state and preserve public order; people who criticize the government should be considered traitors, because if they're willing to challenge authority with words who else how else they might challenge it? People who gush about "Free speech" are just ivorty tower chowderheads, right?
If control of one's own destiny really is a sacred right, then it takes precedence over all other considerations, even morality. Like the right to free speech, your moral objection to blasphemy doesn't compromise my right to say blasphemous things.
To that end, I do disagree with some interpretations of the prime directive. There is no real way to determine the "natural" course of evolution for a particular planet, therefore there shouldn't be any issues against contact. Cultural contamination, maybe, but there should be procedures in place that allow for peaceful and non-disruptive contact. An approach that favors normalization of relations would be ideal, something that would eventually lead indigenous peoples to think of alien life forms merely as "foreigners" and not be so spooked.
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