cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/7802418
Don't forget about the Irish unification of 2024!
Mao is pretty much the opposite of what the federation stands for in almost every respect.
this post was submitted on 05 Nov 2023
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Earth and the Federation was communism. Admittedly an idealist version of it, came about because it was voted in by enlightened voters. But even then the Bell Riots showed that it was capitalism that caused conditions to arise in which the oppressed rose up against the failures of capitalism, and finally end it.
Not sure if you specifically meant something about Mao, but at least be aware of this. It's the most basic theory of communism that capitalism fails, turns into barbarism, and the working class have no option but to revolt to resolve the crisis.
Star trek doesn't really have a working class though, they achieved Marx's earlier hypothesised state of the deprecation of manual labor (in the technical sense). Interestingly, most of the philosophy is around how to get to Star Trek, where Star Trek itself is kind of the biggest thought experiment we have for what we would do once we're there.
Marx later evolved to believe only a revolution would destroy capitalism, and that's what Mao focused on, the getting there. Through violence.
Mao took that to heart, and succeeded, despite his best efforts, in ultimately setting the stage for a China that's more capitalist than it's ever been.
That's kind of the magic of star trek. Theres a violent past, a billion deaths, and it isn't a new political system or a different economy that changes everything, it was a newfound hope that things could be better if people were better, and they worked together to make that happen.
I think younger Marx would have loved Star Trek. I'm not sure about older Marx or Mao.
Yeah I mean specifically that Mao killed millions of people through a combination of ineptitude and taking the lessons from the wars he fought in into government. The Federation is built on principles that run counter to Maoism in important respects like allowing differences of opinion and anti-authoritarianism.
The Federation is built on principles that run counter to Maoism in important respects like allowing differences of opinion and anti-authoritarianism.
Do you know what the "mass line" concept by Mao is?
you know for a fact that they don't know dick about shit and are proud of it
Self dunks are so satisfying though!
like allowing differences of opinion and anti-authoritarianism
Getting steamrolled by nazis after inviting them to the table under pompous pretenses of "allowing differences of opinion" isn't even a viable starter for a government. The Weimar Republic comes to mind.
The in-setting excuse for why the Federation survived at all, shaky as it was, is that it employs cryptofascists already and gives them unchecked privileges to surveil, harm, and murder on a whim to maintain the status quo: Section 31. You might be a fan.
Do you have any argument to back that up that isn't GOMMUNISM VUVULZULA GORILLION DEAD? 
Lol. Ok buddy.
You literally don't know anything about Mao
The U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 comes across a lost Earth colony during a survey beyond Federation space; a few generations after its establishment, a group of religious zealots take over the operations of the colony, creating a feudal society in which power is held by a select few "holy" families and the vast majority of colonists are little more than slaves. How would Kirk and crew handle this situation?
Lol really ticked off the tankies. Don't tell them starfleet hq is... in America!
edit: sorry, I have been informed tankies' localization actually has star fleet headquartered in... San Fransokyo from Disney's Big Hero Six?
the USA is definitely an entity that still exists in star trek
100 percent
have you even watched the show?
The Star Trek Understander has logged on
Where's the Office of the President of the Federation?
There is a kind of political power that grows out of the barrel of a gun. That thing must be destroyed.
The Red Alert 3 DLC we were denied.
The Rise of Agamus
This picture is heavily photoshopped. Maybe an AI modified it.
Is that someone I should know?
Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise.
I know that one what's the other guy
It's Mao Zedong. He said, "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun." He also led China to mass starvation and terrible poverty, so not someone Picard would subscribe to.
Mao Zedong. Chairman Mao. The dude the Beatles sang about when they said you won’t make it with anyone if you carry pictures of him.
OP will now be unable to make it with anyone.
...And yet, the Enterprise is armed. If power does not come from the ability to effectively use violence, but from some other means, then why would the Federation arm it's flagship?
Devil's advocate, but parts of the Trek universe have shown that there are non- or quasi-sentient creatures capable of endangering starships like the Enterprise, in addition to the usual spacefaring hazards like asteroid belts and debris fields, and the potential to encounter, for lack of a better term, space pirates. It makes sense to arm the ship for a number of reasons not necessarily related to the power of coercion via the threat of violence. The Enterprise's weapons are also frequently outclassed by other ships of similar size designed for combat. It feels more akin to packing bear spray or a noisemaker to scare off wildlife, and the bear spray gets used to drive off a robber.
That said, the threat of violence against a better-armed foe in order to prevent combat is a trope the shows rely on frequently, so you have a point.
Aside from an episode of Strange New Worlds (and possible in Wrath of Khan, depending on your perspective), space pirates aren't brought up as a risk to the Federation starships, presumably because they usually aren't. Shields alone should be sufficient for debris and asteroids, since shields appear to stop physical objects as well as certain forms of energy (obvs. not certain bands of light though, or whatever bands their sensors use). Non- and quasi-sentient species shouldn't pose any risk to a starship at all (aside from possibly omniscient comets, thank you Stanislaw Lem). The weapons on a starship are appropriate to direct against planetary settlements, bases, and other starships.
Fundamentally, I believe Mao was correct on this; the ability to use violence effectively is the lowest common denominator for all power. Everything else is a veneer of civility intended to disguise the violence that is inherent to all forms of coercive rule.
"The pen is mightier than the sword."
"But is the pen mightier than photon torpedos?"
Every capitalist is a nazist, is what you're saying?
then where the hell does it come from
also even if (and it's a big if) Ireland does unify next year it won't be through violence