How could the Federation economy collapse and how would they react?

[T'Girl]

Re: How could the Federation economy collapse and how would they react

Consider houses made of wood-a tree is sawn into planks, and then a carpenter hammers them together.

A population of 24th century people who've spent their lives lounging in the nearest holosuite accomplishing this is funny to imagine.

With their advance tech disabled, hopefully they'll be able to figure out how to poop on their own.

 

[Tim Walker]

Re: How could the Federation economy collapse and how would they react

Somebody used to the holo-suite might react like a drug addict going cold turkey. Virtual reality might seem a poor substiture.

 

[USS Triumphant]

Re: How could the Federation economy collapse and how would they react

I'm envisioning Section 31 implementing a plan to kill off large swathes of "useless" people so they won't be a drain on those capable of surviving. I'm seeing cargo ships getting loaded up to carry massive numbers of people who can't survive otherwise to the Nexus, or as refugees to another civilization outside of the interference at old scale Warp 4.8 (at least temporarily, the new max warp in Federation space). I'm seeing plans being made to use the Guardian of Forever to go back and keep the weapon from being set off, only to discover that the Guardian itself no longer works properly due to the interference. And a plan to get a ship outside of the interference to slingshot back in time being foiled by the time cops.

 

[Tim Walker]

Re: How could the Federation economy collapse and how would they react

If I recall correctly, transporters were just coming into use with ENT. Also, directed energy weapons ("phase" etc.) seem to just barely coming into use. So if you knock down technology to just before ENT, you have no transporters, no holo-suites, no replicators, no EMH. Force fields seem to have been a new technology with ENT.

So, you can just barely have an interstellar civilization, and it will seem technologically stunted compared to TNG/DS9/VOY, and TOS for that matter. It will also seem very feeble compared to the Dominion, the Borg, etc.

After dealing with issues such as food supply, water, sewage, etc. (hopefully you have been using relatively low tech all along), there are the problems of building a workable economy based on old style technology, and, after that, gluing civilization together.

I imagine a lot of old ships will be rushed out of boneyards, and patched together. Hobbyists will be in demand because they have preserved older tech. And museums will become a source of hardware.

And with replicators turned useless, you will need tools for making tools.So you would need to scrounge up old equipment to make old style hardware.

 

[Tim Walker]

Re: How could the Federation economy collapse and how would they react

Given replicator technology, I could rebuild the necessary infrastructure very quickly. By myself. That's why I suggested something to cripple the technology itself - as long as that technology is intact as shown in TNG, the Federation is a post-scarcity civilization. A lack of resources or even personnel aren't really a concern, provided you've got a replicator and a power source (a star for solar, if nothing else). People would be sad about the loss of people they cared about, and possibly about the loss of objects they had a sentimental attachment to - but they would be sad in their new, very modern homes, and provided at least small comfort by the replicated copies of the objects they lost.

With this rebuilding/high tech scenario, I still think that we would see the start of a new era. A more sober era. With a sea change in attitudes.

Even Picard began to lose his complacency in his first encounter with the Borg.