Trekonomics: The Economics of Star Trek

by Manu Saadia

Overview

"Manu Saadia has managed to show us one more reason, perhaps the most compelling one of all, why we all need the world of Star Trek to one day become the world we live in." — Chris Black, Writer and Co-Executive Producer, Star Trek: Enterprise

What would the world look like if everybody had everything they wanted or needed? Trekonomics, the premier book in financial journalist Felix Salmon's imprint PiperText, approaches scarcity economics by coming at it backwards — through thinking about a universe where scarcity does not exist. Delving deep into the details and intricacies of 24th century society, Trekonomics explores post-scarcity and whether we, as humans, are equipped for it. What are the prospects of automation and artificial intelligence? Is there really no money in Star Trek? Is Trekonomics at all possible?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781941758762
Publisher:	Inkshares
Publication date:	05/31/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	494 KB

About the Author

Manu Saadia was born in Paris, France, where he fell into science fiction and Star Trek fandom at the age of eight. He studied history of science and economic history in Paris and Chicago. His work on Trekonomics has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Business Insider. Manu Saadia is a contributing writer for Fusion.net. He lives in Los Angeles with his son and his wife.

Table of Contents

Foreword Brad DeLong xi

Introduction: "Dream not oftoday, Mister Picard" 1

Chapter 1 "…Money went the way of the dinosaurs" The absence of money in Star Trek 19

Chapter 2 "…Why is everyone so worried about holograms taking over the universe?" The meaning of work in Star Trek's society 41

Chapter 3 "Tea, Earl Grey, hot" The replicator 65

Chapter 4 "… Only a fool would stand in the way of progress" Natural limits and technology substitution 87

Chapter 5 "…The thought that warp engines might be causing some kind of damage" Free riding and negative externalities in a post-scarcity world 109

Chapter 6 "…That future, that space station, all those people-they exist…" Sources of trekonomics in classic science fiction 137

Chapter 7 "There are still many human emotions I do not comprehend…" The psychology of Utopia 165

Chapter 8 "Never be afraid to mislabel a product" The Ferengis, interstellar capitalists 187

Chapter 9 "I live in the hope that you may one day see the universe for what it truly is…" Prospects for trekonomics in the real world 209

Conclusion: "Live Long and Prosper" 237

Acknowledgments 243

Further Reading 247

Star Trek Episodes Cited 255

Science Fiction for Further Reading 259

About the Author 261

List of Patrons 263

Editorial Reviews

04/11/2016
First-time author Saadia has written an amusing deconstruction of the economics of Star Trek and how they illuminate our current financial and social milieu. He identifies the essential feature of the Federation, the TV series’ futuristic society, as being its victory over the problem of scarcity. Key to this is the replicator, a machine that can create anything, from food to weapons, out of pure matter. As a result, resources are endlessly abundant, currency has been abolished, and work has changed from something people do to survive into something people do to better themselves and society and to gain prestige. The book’s most interesting section examines negative externalities, “the cost of an activity to a third party who is not involved in said activity,” as demonstrated in an episode about the Federation placing limits on faster-than-light travel after discovering it adversely affects a certain alien race. Saadia relates this to the sacrifices necessary to stop global warming and other environmental threats. Like Star Trek itself, the book is about more than spaceships and aliens; it illuminates the present by showing a future to strive for. (June)

Publishers Weekly

"Like Star Trek itself, the book is about more than spaceships and aliens; it illuminates the present by showing a future to strive for." — Publishers Weekly

“Saadia proves that Star Trek is an even more valuable cultural icon than we ever suspected.”— Charlie Jane Anders, former editor-in-chief, io9

"Trekonomics is a fanciful romp through the economic theories that underpin Final Frontier life in the mid-22nd through late-24th centuries—as seen through the eyes of an erudite, if occasionally fawning, fan. But the book is also a serious and informative economic discourse, complete with a forward by Berkeley professor Brad DeLong. —Ben Geier & Robert Hackett, Fortune

“In Trekonomics, Saadia reminds us of what made Star Trek such a bold experiment in the first place: its Utopian theme of human culture recovering from capitalism. Smart, funny, and wise, this book is a great work of analysis for fans of Star Trek, and a call to arms for fans of economic justice." — Annalee Newitz, tech culture editor, Ars Technica

“Trekonomics will change the way you see three different universes: the one that Gene Rodenberry created, the one we’re in, and the one we’re headed towards.” — Felix Salmon, senior editor, Fusion

"Manu Saadia has managed to show us one more reason, perhaps the most compelling one of all, why we all need the world of Star Trek to one day become the world we live in." — Chris Black, Writer and Co-Executive Producer, Star Trek: Enterprise

“Like many classics of eighteenth-century literature, Star Trek used fantasy travel to explore problems close to home. Unlike Gulliver’s Travels or Candide, however, it also suggested answers. Trekonomics takes seriously the promise of those solutions. Make it so!” — Rebecca Spang, Indiana University, author of The Invention of the Restaurant and Stuff and Money in the Time of the French Revolution

"A post-scarcity economy is actually far more within reach than the technological advances for which Star Trek is better known." —The New York Times

"Almost fifty years after Captain Kirk first took the U.S.S. Enterprise on a voyage to explore strange new worlds, the Star Trek universe is more expansive than ever. It's been the subject of serious study by political scientists, sociologists, even religion researchers — a sign of how deeply influential the show and its ideas have become. Star Trek posits a world in which hunger, war and poverty have been eliminated — a utopia that isn't just free from want, but also free from capitalism and even currency." —The Washington Post

From the Publisher