Further adventures in late-stage conservatism

Now, everyone likes to dogpile on Season 1 of Star Trek: The Next Generation. And, let's face it: it needed to grow into the beloved show it became. But the season finale pointed towards the greatness the show would achieve.

"The Neutral Zone" brought the Romulans back into the Star Trek universe. You can read the synopsis here. The Romulans' reappearance, though, was only one of the plots. As with most Star Trek episodes, there was a subplot which played off of and enhanced the main plot.

In this episode, the subplot involved the Enterprise coming upon a sleeper ship with three human survivors on board in cryogenic stasis. They were all terminally ill in the 20th century, and had been frozen until cures could be discovered for their diseases. Of course, in the 24th century, Dr. Beverly Crusher cures them without much trouble.

One of the rescued is Ralph Offenhouse. Offenhouse, during his time alive in the 20th century, is the sort we would recognize now: obsessed with his wealth, and confident that his way of life would continue in perpetuity. He sneers to Captain Jean-Luc Picard that a "military man" couldn't possibly understand how important it was for him to contact his bank to see how much money he now had, what with three hundred years of accruing interest.

Of course, he was soon disabused of his preconceptions. His bank was gone, his money was no more, and money itself was no longer in use in the Federation, and certainly not on Earth. Humanity had solved war, disease, famine, and poverty. The world he always strove to conquer no longer existed, replaced by something that people like him would have considered communism.

Offenhouse is Scott Winship. Mr. Winship haughtily demands to know that if school lunches are to be free, why not breakfast and dinner? Why not for all, and not just children? Why stop with food.

He's so close. He's so close to realizing that basic human necessities should, in fact, be social costs. No one should starve. No one should go without shelter. No one should go without medical care. But of course, for the likes of Mr. Winship, such a world is a horror. A world in which people are not subject to poverty is a world they are unable to conceive. To quote the Boss: there are winners and losers, and don't get caught on the wrong side of that line. For them, poverty is a feature, not a bug. It is necessary to the functioning of the system which rewards them with wealth. A system in which they have power and exercise that power by depriving others of the basics of existence. 

I often wonder about conservative fans of Star Trek. The world described in the franchise is a utopia, one where the demons which have cursed humanity for its recorded history have been solved. No more war, no more poverty, no more hunger. At the end of the episode, Offenhouse asks Picard what will he do now, if he can't pursue the accumulation of wealth. Picard tells him that humans now pursue improving themselves. And the humans of the 24th century join Starfleet, they become scientists, doctors, artists. They do all the things we do now for work, but work is for personal development, not for subsistence. Humanity looks both out and in.

And that's it, isn't it? If one is no longer in a rat race, if one can contemplate one's own nature without worrying about where the next meal will come from, that's frightening to many. If one is not constantly pursuing accumulation of wealth and possessions, one will have to reflect on oneself. And for people like Mr. Winship, that is hell. Only the universe knows what uncomfortable truths self-reflection will bring to some. 

There's more to it than that, though. Poverty is a result of moral failure. Wealth is a result of moral rectitude. And if that is upended, then how do you center your world? How do you rationalize your mode of being? How do you reconcile with the fact that your wealth is not a reflection of your inner worth? To avoid that, you cling to this system even more closely. You cleave to it. Because in our late-capitalist system, you don't have to worry about the inner life. You have your toys. You have your bank account. That's all you need.

However, I don't think it will take us centuries to realize that the path on which we now tread is unsustainable. The younger generation increasingly wants no part of it. The earth and its warming will make that mindset obsolete. In the Star Trek universe, World War III caused humanity to set aside war and unite. (And a visit by Vulcans.) We won't be so fortunate as to have pointy-eared aliens to come rescue us. But this summer we've been having in the Northern Hemisphere is prologue. I have hope that this will begin to spur action. And then, yes, Mr. Winship: We won't stop with food. Because a human's worth should not be determined by their stock portfolio.

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