The Conflicted Economics of 'Star Trek' In honor of today's
long-awaited (by The Ticker) premiere of "Star Trek," the 11th
film in the canon and a prequel to the original series, it
seemed a good time to examine the economics of Star Trek. As
envisioned by creator Gene Roddenberry and first aired in 1966,
"Star Trek" depicted a humanistic utopia set in the 23rd
century, a time when technology had eradicated poverty and
hunger and, largely, crime. Because of this, Roddenberry's
universe had little need for ownership of private property or
even money, and accumulation of wealth was depicted as anti-
social. Those who attempted it were portrayed as vulgar at best
and dangerous at worst. (Think Harry Mudd.) This sentiment
carried forward through the following four live-action
television series and the so-far 10 films. Just in case
Roddenberry was unsure that fans were getting his point, he gave
avarice its own non-human species in the second TV series, "Star
Trek: The Next Generation," which aired during Wall Stre