samedi 28 février 2015

The fates of corporations in the Star Trek universe


As we learned in the responses to the question


Why do people risk death by joining Starfleet if not for money or preservation of their homes? ,


the Federation (and Earth in particular) enjoys a post-scarcity economy. As part of this, humans living inside the borders of the Federation do not earn or use money. Picard makes this quite clear in his speech to Lily in First Contact, for example.


My question is about the fate in the Star Trek universe of human corporations, industrial conglomerates, and other profit-driven enterprises that once existed on Earth.


Do these enterprises still exist in any way, shape, or form in the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th centuries? If not, when and why did they disappear? If they do exist, then do they "employ" individuals without paying them (much in the way that Starfleet does with its officers and enlisted personnel)?


One might guess that the Third World War in the 21st Century "reset" the economic playing field of Earth and perhaps put corporations into retirement. In Star Trek (2009), however, we see a Nokia phone / communicator in Jim Kirk's stepfather's car (although one might argue that the device may be from an earlier time but still functions, like the car itself).





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