Here Are The Top 5 Reasons Star Trek is Libertarian

by Kitty Testa

Trek fans everywhere are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Star Trek franchise, which first aired September 8, 1966. The Star Trek universe is often seen as a socialist utopia, and it certainly does possess socialist economic constructs. But when it comes to foreign policy, Star Trek is undoubtedly libertarian.

The interplanetary political alliance in the Star Trek universe is The United Federation of Planets (UFP) and its Prime Directive is explicitly non-interventionist.

1. The United Federation of Planets does not interfere in the natural development of civilizations

Even when lives are at stake, Star Fleet personnel are not permitted to interfere with the affairs of other planets. This is especially true of less technologically-advanced civilizations. Temptations to violate the Prime Directive are often used as a plot theme, as in TNG’s episode Homeward, in which an effort to save the lives of a people whose planet was about to explode gets Worf in an awful lot of trouble with Captain Picard.