Forget all of the spiritual gurus and ambitious cult leaders, maybe no one in history has given more thought to the concept of utopia than Star Trek fans.
For 50 years, since the debut of the original Star Trek series, fans have been looking to the utopian ideals of the United Federation of Planets as an example of a (mostly) peaceful, unified future. The Earth had survived World War III, and joined together with a coalition of alien species to travel the galaxy and achieve the true potential of humanity. There was no money (sort of), and no one wanted for anything. Star Trek's gleaming vision of the future still stands as one of the most indelible visions of utopia ever created. Gene Roddenberry himself once said, "Perhaps one of the primary features of Star Trek that made it different from other shows was, it believed that humans are improving—they will vastly improve in the 23rd century."
To find out how we might one day achieve such a utopian future, we went right to the source: Trekkies. (Or as some have it, Trekkers.) We hit the floor at the recent "Star Trek: 50th Anniversary: Mission: New York" convention in New York, and found out what these utopia experts thought it might take to create a perfect world.
Nicholas
Rank/Character: Emergency Medical Hologram
Favorite Captain: Janeway
What would it take to make a future utopia?
An end to corruption. In the Star Trek format, we need a limitless supply of energy, we need space travel, and an end to currency. Once we have a limitless supply of energy, everyone more or less can get what they need, no one has to fight for anything. [They can] travel, visit different cultures. And that makes a utopian future.
Meghan
Rank/Character: Federation Lieutenant
Favorite Captain: Picard
What would it take to make a future utopia?
We all gotta get along. You’ve gotta make friends. You’ve got to give and take. It’s up to people. Not even the technology. We have to get along before anything.
Glen and Matt
Rank/Character: Federation Chief Science Officer, Federation Commander
Favorite Captain: Picard
What would it take to make a future utopia?
Matt: You need something that unites all of humanity.
Glen: I have no idea.
Matt: Technology would help. Money is the root of all evil. A post-currency society, I’m into it.
Glen: I gotta be honest, I don’t feel like a utopia is possible. I just don’t think that there’s gonna be one thing to unite all of humanity together. But I also think that’s a good thing. Having that diversity is a good thing.
Matt: Once you don’t have to fight over resources anymore, then maybe getting along becomes a bit easier. We need replicators.
Billy and Jeannine
Rank/Character: Commander Riker(ish), Lieutenant Jadzia Dax
Favorite Captain: Picard (Billy), Janeway (Jeannine)
What would it take to make a future utopia?
Billy: Cultural understanding. Drop capitalism. Just for the sake of my laziness, give me a transporter.
Jeannine: I would definitely want to focus more on exploring space, the final frontier. And focusing more on science.
Jay
Rank/Character: Lieutenant Commander Data
Favorite Captain: Picard
What would it take to make a future utopia?
I definitely think replicators would do a lot to make a great future. Unlimited supplies. Pleasantries are always wonderful.
I think the mentality to unify, just one planet would be absolutely fantastic. In the Star Trek universe we’ve unified galaxies, but we could start small and just gather together as a planet.
Alan
Rank/Character: Klingon Thought Admiral
Favorite Captain: Kirk
What would it take to make a future utopia?
I think we have to realize that as much as Star Trek showed a possible future, it may not be the only future. There was a line, I think in Star Trek IV, where there was a thing about, “we don’t use money in the future.” But jump forward a little bit into Deep Space Nine, and almost every episode featured something called gold-pressed latinum. They had money. And the Ferengis went from being a nothing character to being the guys who invented everything. So commerce was there. So clearly the future is with the free market.
Nayavi and Marjorie
Rank/Character: Federation Captain (on shore leave), Federation Lieutenant
Favorite Captain: Picard (Nayavi), Kirk (Marjorie)
What would it take to make a future utopia?
Nayavi: [A future that is] unified. Where all people, regardless of political views and race and religious views come together. Another thing, as cheesy as it sounds, end world hunger.
Marjorie: Being able to explore different galaxies. Someday, have an actual warp speed, and be able to visit different universes and see what else is out there beyond Earth.
Dustin and Andrew
Rank/Character: Young Sybok, Federation Fleet Admiral
Favorite Captain: Picard (Dustin), Kirk (Andrew)
What would it take to make a future utopia?
Dustin: Better communication. I think a lot of our human disputes happen because of a lack of communication from both sides. And second, more of an open mind to try new things. Trying different cultures and trying to sink your mind into new things.
Andrew: Better diplomacy. People actually getting along and making strides to do so. And not necessarily using technology to advance, but trying to solve problems that we’ve previously created that we could probably get rid of. Like, global warming, issues with hunger and things like that.
Marjorie and Shannon
Rank/Character: Dr. Beverly Crusher (from the TNG episode, "Sub Rosa"), Redshirt
Favorite Captain: Picard
What would it take to make a future utopia?
Marjorie: More compassion. More volunteering. And better community education.
Shannon: Empathy. That’s the thing I think is different about the Star Trek universe, is way that they seek to understand all of the other cultures that they encounter.
Lawrence and Darlena
Rank/Character: Federation Captain, Losira (from the TOS episode, “That Which Survives”)
Favorite Captain: Sisko
What would it take to make a future utopia?
Lawrence: When I was a kid and I was watching this stuff, I looked forward to it being a symbol of a more positive future. [But] it seems like we’re going in the opposite direction really, really fast. Rampant capitalism [is an issue]. On paper, mankind is very altruistic, but then when human nature takes hold, the first people to get to the top want to stay up there so bad that they don’t want anyone else there.
And it’s not just financially. Intellectually it’s created a society where if we dumb down the masses, it’s easier to keep them financially dependent on us. It’s a bad cycle that isn’t leading to utopia. In the Federation, we’ve evolved beyond money. We really need to do that.
Darlena: The first thing is to change the mindset. There has to be group of people that says, enough is enough. Everyone will have what they need, everyone will have a purpose. We will encourage people to uplift each other and talk with one another. Get rid of money, and start to intelligently find out how many resources we have, how many people there are on Earth, and how to distribute those resources.
Make everyone feel they’re special and that there’s a need for them. There’s no one better than anyone else, and we all have differences that help encourage and empower us as a planet of people. You start from there and everything else will fall into place.
Lawrence: From the beginning, it should be ingrained that there are no differences, that we’re all here on the planet, trying to get to the same place, which is for everyone to be happy, everyone to be healthy, and everyone to be prosperous. Once that’s ingrained right from the beginning, then no one should ever accept that anyone on this planet, whether they’re down the block in New York, or across the planet in Africa, has less than they need. A global mentality.
Desiree
Rank/Character: USS Enterprise
Favorite Captain: Janeway
What would it take to make a future utopia?
More implementation of strategy and unity. When things work well as a machine, like in an operating room, when everyone is one the same page and bringing a different set of skills to the table, you work together, and it gets goals achieved much faster.
The second thing is curiosity. Rather than just thinking you know it all, or thinking you’re the best at something, to actually want to learn, to want to explore, and to further explore your interests.
Isabel and Pavlos
Rank/Character: Federation Lieutenant-In-Command, Federation Science Officer
Favorite Captain: Janeway (Isabel), Kirk (Pavlos)
What would it take to make a future utopia?
Isabel: In [Star Trek:] First Contact, there was a World War III, so maybe there doesn’t have to be a World War III to get to where we want to be. Maybe we need to have a society without money as well.
Pavlos: I think we need to take a page out of what Roddenberry inspired, and maybe try to stop defining ourselves in terms of different religions and the things that divide us, and focus on the things that bring us together.
Emily, Matthew, and Adam
Rank/Character: Federation Science Officer, Harcourt Fenton Mudd, Abraham Lincoln
Favorite Captain: Kirk (Emily, Matthew), Sisko (Adam)
What would it take to make a future utopia?
Emily: Everyone should treat their tribbles really nicely.
Matthew: The government has to stop all the BS with all the Tesla engines, and all the death rays. If we can get Tesla coils all over the place, because that energy’s going around us all the time, it’s free energy for everybody.
Adam: If the country could come together and abolish slavery, that’d be great.
Chris and Christine
Rank/Character: Cadet Peter Quill w/ Ensign Rocket Raccoon, Lieutenant Gamora
Favorite Captain: Kirk
What would it take to make a future utopia?
Chris: Everybody should start getting along. Especially in this day and age. Right now in the world, it’s the biggest problem.
Christine: I’m gonna be a poster child right now, and say, go green! We’re wasting too much. There’s so many things that we could reuse. Junk that people aren’t using in their house, see if somebody else needs to use it, you know?
Chris: And more galactic expansion. I know it sounds cliche, talking about Star Trek, but that’s how they got there. There’s a whole big galaxy out there, and we may not be able to get along down here, but who’s to say we won’t be able to find someone out there who can teach us a better way?
Evelyn, Julia, and William
Rank/Character: Federation Science Officer, Lieutenant Saavik, Captain James T. Kirk
Favorite Captain: Kirk (Evelyn and William), Picard (Julia)
What would it take to make a future utopia?
Evelyn: Down with the big companies that are destroying the Earth.
Julia: More concern for the environment, and more women in charge.
William: We’re at a point where corporations are literally people, and as we go on, they’re becoming more important than people, and people are becoming cattle basically. There are a lot of progressive steps we’ve made on paper, but they’re not really happening. We need to walk our talk.
Ines
Rank/Character: Klingon Thought Admiral
Favorite Captain: Kirk
What would it take to make a future utopia?
We have to stop looking at each others’ differences and focus more on where we’re the same. I think in the past year, we’ve made it clear that we’d rather focus on the differences and that’s a big stumbling block.
Emily
Rank/Character: Garek (from the DS9 episode, “Our Man Bashir”)
Favorite Captain: Sisko
What would it take to make a future utopia?
Obviously, where everyone, no matter their situation, race, or disabilities would be equal, and anything would be accessible to anyone.
David
Rank/Character: Khanye West
Favorite Captain: Picard
What would it take to make a future utopia?
It starts with a big focus on the sciences. Both from our government, and from a focus on that in beginning level education. Get kids interested in that and start the future innovation that way. Also, giving everybody a chance, and setting aside all the terrible things Star Trek predicts are going to happen before we can get there.
Max
Rank/Character: Federation Commander
Favorite Captain: Picard
What would it take to make a future utopia?
The first thing that springs to mind is, a few thousand more years. I’m a little negative based on today’s political climate. I do think we’ll eventually get there, but sadly, not in the time frame Star Trek suggests we might.
James
Rank/Character: Federation Andorian Female
Favorite Captain: Archer
What would it take to make a future utopia?
Fairness at the job site, and opportunity at the job site. Consistent and frequent availability of jobs for people. To have an opportunity to work, and be paid well, and live a good lifestyle.