Ferengi development prophet motive?

[Voth commando1]

We all know that by the end of DS9 the ferengi are moving in a social democratic direction as a result of Ishka and Zek's reforms.

Given the reactionary and deeply rooted money worshipping culture of the ferengi there is no way these reforms wouldn't engender significant opposition perhaps even coups, conspiracies, or revolutions led by those who don't like the "progressive reforms.

My personal theory for explain the lack of these is that the prophets rewired all the ferengis brains to a more "acceptable" line of thinking and acting.

So what do you all think did the prophets totally reengineer Ferengi society from every brain or what?

 

[at Quark's]

Well, as Quark observes in The Jem'Hadar

QUARK: The way I see it, humans used to be a lot like Ferengi. Greedy, acquisitive, interested only in profit. We're a constant reminder of a part of your past you'd like to forget.
SISKO: Quark, we don't have time for this.
QUARK: But you're overlooking something. Humans used to be a lot worse than the Ferengi. Slavery, concentration camps, interstellar wars. We have nothing in our past that approaches that kind of barbarism. You see? We're nothing like you. We're better. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a lock to pick.

..and seeing that after WW3 (the most horrendous war of all, apparently), humanity suddenly 'turned around' after meeting extraterrestrials, that would beg the question if the prophets had a hand in that, too

(or would the 'interstellar wars' be meant as a sign that Quark simply cannot be trusted on his account? )

 

[kkt]

I am not convinced it would requre the Prophets' intervention to change society. Take a look at Jared Diamond's book The World Until Yesterday. These are other human societies, yet attitudes were quite different. Routine to kill strangers coming into your tribe's territory just because they were strangers. When someone within the tribe harmed another, emphasis on a settlement that allowed the tribe to continue living together, rather than identifying the party at fault and making them pay for the damage. It wasn't the Prophets that changed those human societies, it was a change in technological level, much like the technologies that recently became available to the Ferengi.

 

[Voth commando1]

I am not convinced it would requre the Prophets' intervention to change society. Take a look at Jared Diamond's book The World Until Yesterday. These are other human societies, yet attitudes were quite different. Routine to kill strangers coming into your tribe's territory just because they were strangers. When someone within the tribe harmed another, emphasis on a settlement that allowed the tribe to continue living together, rather than identifying the party at fault and making them pay for the damage. It wasn't the Prophets that changed those human societies, it was a change in technological level, much like the technologies that recently became available to the Ferengi.

The material and ideological basis of civilization has changed a lot in 5000 years. The ferengi don't seem much different materially speaking at the beginning or the end of the series. That's why I get the impression the prophets "reverted" them to their ancient state(apparently 10,000 years or earlier the Ferengi weren't greed obsessed).

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I wouldn't call end-of-series Ferengi society social democratic, more like liberal capitalism. More Barack than Bernie.

Remember that the view of each alien culture is not necessary a representative view of that society. There may have been growing frustration in Ferengi society about the need to constantly claw for profit just to basically get by, but just the Ferengi who were best at profiting were the ones with power to change it, and Ishka/Zek were just the first rich people to actually be on board.

Also worth noting that in Last Outpost when we first met them, there was very little contact between the Federation and the Ferengi, and that contact speedily increased over the next twelve years. There was a great deal of new cultural exchange of ideas over a short period of time.