TC_209

Both versions exist.

If someone with the username "Proud Anarkiddy" tweeted about how anarchism is all about some cringey nonsense, would you post a screenshot of that? Hell, it doesn't even have to be political: if "StarWarzNerd69" tweeted about Star Trek fans being basement-dwelling virgins, I'd ignore the obvious troll bait.

Again, perfectly fair. Before I was a communist, I rejected Marxist concepts as well. I've spent over two decades reading and listening to arguments for and against all sort of political, social and economic ideas. I've identified with centrism, liberalism, libertarianism, social democracy and other ideologies. Today, I consider myself to be a Marxist/socialist/communist not because it's just the latest thing I've hit upon, but because it's what's made the most sense to me. When I use Marxist words and ideas, I don't do so because I'm a Marxist; I'm a Marxist because those words and ideas have helped me to make the most sense of the world. And I'm certainly not demanding, or even asking, you do become a Marxist, I'm just asking you to consider what makes the most sense.

Given this thread is about whether or not the Federation is a communist or socialist society, Marxist definitions are the most useful, eh? Furthermore, I'd argue that the term Dictatorship of the Bourgeoisie very accurately describes American (I'm an American) society, and does so regardless of one's personal beliefs.

From a Marxist perspective, all class-based societies are governed by dictatorships:

A dictatorship is the political dominance of one group of people over others. In a class society, a dictatorship usually favors the interest of certain classes over the others.

Right now, we live in the Dictatorship of the Bourgeoisie

The bourgeoisie is the ruling class in capitalist society; it owns the means of production and has a decisive influence on production. It lives off of surplus value which it obtains by exploiting the labour power of the proletariat.

Most sources on Roddenberry's political beliefs are people who knew him, and they didn't open up about those beliefs until after his death. Here's an article that I've skimmed:

According to his last wife, Majel Barrett, he identified as a communist. But we know from the many accounts of his unethical business practices that he was also obsessed with making money. He preached peace and love but was infamously difficult to get along with. And he flew the flag for feminism while being a notorious womanizer.

Gene was a delightful man with great creativity and talent, but he was also a deeply flawed man who often failed to practice what he preached.

Capitalism was eliminated on Earth by the New World Economy, which was likely a Dictatorship of the Proletariat as envisioned by Marx, Engels, Lenin, Roddenberry, etc. The Federation appears to be a classless, moneyless post-DotP society that still has one primary state apparatus (the Federation itself) that oversees many smaller state apparatuses (the Federation's many member-worlds). You'll notice a contradiction, though: If a state "is a system by which the ruling class maintains and perpetuates its dominance within the social formation... by subjugating the other class(es) within class society" then how can the Federation be a classless society? I propose two solutions:

1. Star Trek is fiction and fictional worlds are often incomplete and contradictory. Everything I've said about the New World Economy, the Federation, etc. should be taken with a grain of quadrotriticale.
2. No society has established a DotP, and there are certainly no examples of post-DotP societies. Marxism is a scientific and materialist worldview -- it has evolved since the 19th century and it will continue to evolve into the 23rd century and beyond.

EDIT: My answer is "Yes, but it's Advanced Sci-Fi Communism."

You vote for the people responsible for the current Palestinian genocide.You're not just okay with it, you're cheerleading for Team Genocide. And the cherry on top is your scolding of Nakoichi, a real-life activist, while throwing a tantrum over voting for the blue face of the American Capitalism Party.

After all the Palestinian have been murdered under the watchful eyes of Biden and Harris, what ethnic or minority groups are you okay with exterminating in 2028?

You gasp for air, but all you get is a mouthful of blood -- blood from the 200,000 Palestinians killed in a genocide you support.

You are drowning in the blood of 200,000 Palestinians.

"I gave them the bombs."