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| Brave New World Appendix: The Impact of Marxism on the Federation Council of the United Federation of Planets |
It has been mentioned that there is a seeming disparity between the size of the Federation Council as seen in Star Trek IV: The Voyage
Home and the fact that new members like Bajor will be immediately able to select delegates to the Federation Council in “Rapture.” If all
members are entitled to direct representation in the Federation Council, then this would indicate that the United Federation of Planets
consisted of rather less than thirty or so members as of the 23rd century (the Federation Council’s composition is quite clearly not “one
member, one representative”). Alternatively, representation on the Federation Council may be on a rotating basis with certain permanent
members, as indicated by the non-canonical Articles of Federation contained in the quasi-canonical Star Fleet Technical Manual, or else
perhaps the statutes governing membership were amended to allow for increased representation on the Federation Council. Although it
has never been explicitly stated, it seems likely given the other evidence that the apparent change is the product of new human dominance
(it should of course be noted that despite its clear importance, new humanism has only ever been explicitly mentioned once, in a source
not commonly available and all but unknown). The connection may be found in the nature of the United Federation’s society.
As considered in the main body of the article, the United Federation in the 24th century is evidently a post-socialist communist society.
In Marxist political theory, this means that it is a society which “advanced” from the capitalist stage of history to the socialist stage,
when the proletariat has been formed into a class and “conquered political power” by overthrowing “bourgeois supremacy.” The socialist
stage is conceived as a transitional period during which reforms of the political, social, and economic structures of society must be
accomplished by the “dictatorship of the proletariat”; after the necessary reforms have been carried out, the socialist society is supposed
to complete the transition into a communist society, wherein the dictatorship of the proletariat is no longer necessary, as political power
now resides in the proletariat as a whole. (Note that the establishment of a communist party to act as “vanguard of the revolution” is a
feature of Marxism-Leninism and its conception of the process of transition from capitalism to socialism and ultimately from socialism to
communism, not Marxism per se; the collective consciousness of the new humans would quite possibly make such a feature redundant.)
The ideologues Marx and Engels specifically called for the abolition of bourgeois private property, which would in effect convert the
entire society into the proletariat. Therefore, the conquest of political power by the proletariat would inherently require that the entire
proletariat share equally in political power (i.e., the “conquest” of political power by the proletariat). The abolition of capital under the
“New World Economy” as mentioned by Brevet Lieutenant Thomas E. Paris in “Dark Frontier” indicates that the first stage has been
completed (presumably by new human reforms), and the logical next step would be the establishment of the communist society giving
political power to the proletariat; this would require that the highest body of the state include or represent the entire body politic, as the
Federation Council is the instrument of the classless rule of the proletariat as a whole. That is to say, because the New World Economy
would convert the entire population of the United Federation into proletarians, and because political power would have been “conquered”
by the proletariat, the entire population would be entitled to participate in complete fashion in government. Within the federal or
confederate structure, this would obviously mean that each member state would be considered a full and equal partner in the government
of the United Federation of Planets. Ergo, a new member like Bajor would be automatically entitled to representation on the Federation
Council.
See also:
Home and the fact that new members like Bajor will be immediately able to select delegates to the Federation Council in “Rapture.” If all
members are entitled to direct representation in the Federation Council, then this would indicate that the United Federation of Planets
consisted of rather less than thirty or so members as of the 23rd century (the Federation Council’s composition is quite clearly not “one
member, one representative”). Alternatively, representation on the Federation Council may be on a rotating basis with certain permanent
members, as indicated by the non-canonical Articles of Federation contained in the quasi-canonical Star Fleet Technical Manual, or else
perhaps the statutes governing membership were amended to allow for increased representation on the Federation Council. Although it
has never been explicitly stated, it seems likely given the other evidence that the apparent change is the product of new human dominance
(it should of course be noted that despite its clear importance, new humanism has only ever been explicitly mentioned once, in a source
not commonly available and all but unknown). The connection may be found in the nature of the United Federation’s society.
As considered in the main body of the article, the United Federation in the 24th century is evidently a post-socialist communist society.
In Marxist political theory, this means that it is a society which “advanced” from the capitalist stage of history to the socialist stage,
when the proletariat has been formed into a class and “conquered political power” by overthrowing “bourgeois supremacy.” The socialist
stage is conceived as a transitional period during which reforms of the political, social, and economic structures of society must be
accomplished by the “dictatorship of the proletariat”; after the necessary reforms have been carried out, the socialist society is supposed
to complete the transition into a communist society, wherein the dictatorship of the proletariat is no longer necessary, as political power
now resides in the proletariat as a whole. (Note that the establishment of a communist party to act as “vanguard of the revolution” is a
feature of Marxism-Leninism and its conception of the process of transition from capitalism to socialism and ultimately from socialism to
communism, not Marxism per se; the collective consciousness of the new humans would quite possibly make such a feature redundant.)
The ideologues Marx and Engels specifically called for the abolition of bourgeois private property, which would in effect convert the
entire society into the proletariat. Therefore, the conquest of political power by the proletariat would inherently require that the entire
proletariat share equally in political power (i.e., the “conquest” of political power by the proletariat). The abolition of capital under the
“New World Economy” as mentioned by Brevet Lieutenant Thomas E. Paris in “Dark Frontier” indicates that the first stage has been
completed (presumably by new human reforms), and the logical next step would be the establishment of the communist society giving
political power to the proletariat; this would require that the highest body of the state include or represent the entire body politic, as the
Federation Council is the instrument of the classless rule of the proletariat as a whole. That is to say, because the New World Economy
would convert the entire population of the United Federation into proletarians, and because political power would have been “conquered”
by the proletariat, the entire population would be entitled to participate in complete fashion in government. Within the federal or
confederate structure, this would obviously mean that each member state would be considered a full and equal partner in the government
of the United Federation of Planets. Ergo, a new member like Bajor would be automatically entitled to representation on the Federation
Council.
See also:
| This site is for informational and entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement of any kind is intended. Star Trek and related materials are © Paramount Pictures Corporation, which reserves all rights thereto. All original material is © Julius Sykes. Please do not use without permission. |
This appendix was originally added on 20 November 2004 under the title “The Impact of Marxism on the Federation
Council.” It was republished on 31 January 2007 under the title “The Impact of Marxism on the Federation Council of the
United Federation of Planets.”
Council.” It was republished on 31 January 2007 under the title “The Impact of Marxism on the Federation Council of the
United Federation of Planets.”