Your thoughts needed: using Star Trek to solve today's problems?

[Star Trek RX]

Hi everyone,

A few of us have been doing some thinking. In many ways, elements of Star Trek have been reflective of recent world history. What if we applied some of the norms, laws and principles from Star Trek to today's global problems? Would we be able to generate ideas for new solutions? For example, how would the Federation address the challenges of health care reform?

Am curious if others have thoughts about this, or could even point me to examples of where this topic has come up before. Thanks

 

[sojourner]

Not alot of it applies. The Federation is a resource rich society.

 

[Finn]

sorry

 

[Shatnertage]

I don't think so.

It's like asking if adding Superman as the quarterback would make a football team better.

 

[Hofner]

Well since the Federation has virtually infinite resources, at least in the 24th century, health care is simply not a problem. There's no money so you don't have to pay doctors or hospitals. You can get any needed mediicine from the household replicator. The way to solve today's health care problem is to invent the replicator.

Robert

 

[Vincent Law]

"Past Tense" from Deep Space Nine is probably one of the most useful episodes as it applies to modern problems. Health care reform isn't really a topic Star Trek can be applied to, however. Discussion about a television show franchise, though provoking as it might be, will not "solve" any actual problems.

 

[shawn12]

We need to apply the ideology and science to todays problems.

Part of the reason for a successful society in Star trek is they are working together.

I think we should already have a small moon base in 2010.

I agree though apply the Star trek Idelogy to todays probelms wouuld help for sure.

The whole society needs to keep up together with the new idealogy and science and technology. Otherwise you get problems.

We haven't quite advanced enough yet, globally.

 

[shawn12]

I have thought about this myself for example with issues like global warming.

 

[Jonas Grumby]

Seems to me the Trek solutions that require a society of nearly unlimited resources and technical capabilities is not going to be of much practical use to us. And the solutions that require Roddenberry's vaunted "evolved humanity" are even more problematic.

 

[shawn12]

They made that society though together. The resources we have are the universe. Our capabilities are limitied of course, but partly from not getting busy.

There are quite a few people in the world who have no clue about space and the need for space exploration and some about science itself.

I think some of this would change quickly, if say Aliens showed up at the door, especially hostile ones.

 

[sojourner]

If hostile aliens show up we are all dead. The technology gap would be insurmountable.

 

[Jonas Grumby]

They made that society though together. The resources we have are the universe. Our capabilities are limitied of course, but partly from not getting busy.

Well, no, that society is fictional. To the extent that it was "made" at all, it was made by Gene Roddenberry and a few others who worked for the Franchise. Effecting real societal change would involve convincing a hell of a lot more people than that to even agree on just exactly what it is they should get "busy" doing.

 

[Orac]

It's not fictional. It's REEEEEEEEEAAL!!!

 

[Jonas Grumby]

^ I know. I was just momentarily delirious.

 

[ngc7293]

I think Star Trek also runs on a Global Government. Once you get that far then a lot of social change can happen without a lot of obstruction from the local governments. There are people in Central America that don't get proper electricity. There are people in South America that still rely on Slash and burn to grow crops. Once everyone starts caring about everyone, then change can occur globally.

 

[-Brett-]

The Federation is successful because the writers decided that it was successful.

I suppose we could all try deciding that the United States is prosperous. Deciding.....

*looks out the window*

Looks like two more neighbours lost their homes and another long-standing business just went under. Guess it didn't work. Maybe fantasy isn't a good approach to solving real world problems.

 

[Vincent Law]

The Federation is successful because the writers decided that it was successful.

That is precisely it. Whatever was in the series and movies were nothing more than commentary on something that had already happened in history, was a contemporary issue, or a hypothetical situation for the purpose of entertainment. There are no solutions offered for anything, beyond the suggestion to not do something stupid, like say hunt the whales to extinction. Whatever the problem faced by our heroes each week, the solution they tried worked because it was written that way.

 

[Arpy]

Star Trek is about intelligence, compassion, equality, innovation, and cooperation.

That it doesn't get specific is part of what makes it timeless. The more-so it does, as it has in tech details, the more dated it's become.

Show me any series that invents a specific detailed answer to a world problem that's then adopted and solves that problem.

The replicator doesn't invent medicine or anything else, including itself, by itself. Nor does the Federation become a fair, just, prosperous, happy city-on-a-hill by buying off everyone with a lifetime supply of Twinkies and Coke. They have to want it and work at it and be it.

"The fault is not in our stars but in ourselves." Also see my sig below. Life's hard - I've had some experience in the matter - but that's an excuse for cynicism, not a justification for it.

 

[Sci]

Looking to Star Trek to solve social problems is like looking to Shakespeare's love sonnets for relationship advice. It just doesn't work that way. In this sort of context, the role of art is not to provide an instruction manual, it's to provide inspiration. It's up to us to figure out how to make it all work.

 

[ReadyAndWilling]

Not alot of it applies. The Federation is a resource rich society.

this.

Trek operates in an economy that's 'super-abundant'.

it just isn't possible for every person in china to have a double car garage and a 2 story house.