You don't think it qualifies as "absurd" that over 150 alien species would possess the exact same economic system of zero compentsation for a individuals efforts?
"Money doesn't exist in the future" was mentioned only once, in First Contact.
A economic system based on rewards is idiotic for a Trek setting (Federation especially because species that generally join it have similar values and are probably willing to give up a currency based system after they've seen the benefits of a non-currency based economy).
More on this below.
"Money doesn't exist...."
Also mentioned in DS9 by Jake and Nog (as Timo himself stated).
Voyager also mentioned it (per Tom Paris in 'Dark Frontier').
Early TNG at least directly implied it when Picard talked to the 3 survivors from the late 20th century in 'The Neutral Zone' who were found in stasis.
But it isn't technology that creates that abundance, it was a economic system that rewards successful production with profit. Rewards the individual for their hard work (or smart work) with a paycheck, which they then use to live their lives . The capitalist system uses demand and supply to allocate resources in the only way that has been proven to work on a large scale, over a large period of time.
The system based on rewards is idiotic in this day and age. It breeds incentive for repetitive work ONLY along with highly corrupt forms of behavior.
Money is created out debt (unless you already noticed) and its made out of thin air (nothing to support it).
This kind of model was directly implied to have been abandoned by Humans in early TNG.
Also, humans are using technology to create abundance (they have been since the industrial revolution took place).
Today we can automate majority of the global workforce (100% is also achievable if we set our mind to it) along with complete automation of the economy.
Roddenberry probably had the same idea in mind, but it got distorted by the time it got to the screen so only certain elements survived (most of which were emphasized in early TNG, but forgotten or abandoned later on in order to make the show 'closer to today').
Remember that this show was made for American TV - a capitalist audience.
Not lack of knowledge, but carefully examination of examples of failed systems (many in the 20th century) that were supposedly going to replace the current system, but instead turn the lives of the people force to live under those "better systems" into a living hell.
You are projecting. No one is suggesting that removal of money equates 'socialism', 'fascism' or 'communism' (except for those who intentionally project such notions).
Actually, one can easily argue that the US today is very fascist.
But to get back on the topic at hand... all of those 'isms' used money... they all used banks, they ALL had social stratification, they ALL had people in positions of power along with people working in servitude of others.
A resource based economy (as envisioned by Jacque Fresco decades ago) has none of that.
When has your hypothedical system ever been proven too work over the course of centuries, under a wide variety of economic conditions? That's how capitalism was proven. It might not be perfect, but it does work.
A resource based economy was NEVER tried in practice.
For that matter, a system that uses NO currency of any kind in any form ever existed (except during hunter-gatherer times when there was more than enough to go around in a specific portion of the land).
Capitalism only 'works' because it caters to the minority (those who are in power).
The said system doesn't address human needs and completely disregards this in favor of creating 'artificial scarcity' so it can perpetuate itself.
However, Capitalism already once crashed (back in 1929) when mechanization and automation were introduced in the industry.
Purchasing power was rock bottom, while production was sky high.
You had food, water and material goods in abundance, but no one could 'afford' them.
What kind of a SICK system is that?
Another crash is coming fast.
Only this time, people won't be able to move to any other 'sector'. Why?
Because robots and computers can (and will) replace Humans in EVERY possible field.
You don't require a full AI on top of that... just highly specialized systems - and those already existed for some time.
Machines can be programmed to do the work of humans thousands of times better, faster and more efficient.
They don't require pensions, sick-days, or health-care.
The industry is already going in this direction - its slow due to notions of 'cost' and 'value' (money) - however, from a resource/technological point of view, we had the capacity to automate most of things some time ago.
Quark sold his shuttle in Earth's solar System, for money. Maybe it was bought by the same guy who bought Jim Kirk's house (on Earth) years before?
Isn't Earth kind of in the middle of the Federation?
Except that Quark is a Ferengi. A full fledged 'capitalist'.
Its only acceptable he would use terms as 'sold', 'afford' and 'value' (not to mention 'profit').
That doesn't mean however money was used (and nowhere in the episode was it stated).
To Quark, 'trade' could have the same euphemism as 'selling'.
On the other hand, its possible he found a non-Federation merchant who was currently located in SOL system and arranged for transport (because Quark doesn't like dealing with the Federation - as Nog himself noted to Jake, the idea that humans abandoned a currency based economy is 'incomprehensible' - more or less).
