Incentive to do... Anything at all in the 'Trek universe.

[Tsukiyumi]

Since basic needs are mostly taken care of, what incentive besides pride would there be to do... well, anything in the type of society depicted in 'Trek? I imagine certain perks would be denied the average Joe Citizen, so there's some motivation, but what about people like Joe Sisko? I didn't see that he got anything for his restaurant's efforts besides the pride of "a job well done". Could people ever become so generous and benign? I'm not sure what I think, personally.

[Thorin]

Credits. I was under the impression that everyone got a basic package (replicator, room, materials, etc), and any further non-essential items could be bought with credits.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

Credits. I was under the impression that everyone got a basic package (replicator, room, materials, etc), and any further non-essential items could be bought with credits.

That's... pretty much what I thought, too.

[Tsukiyumi]

That's what I meant by "perks". If said system were enacted today, most of the people in my neigborhood would simply sit at home all day, never trying to do anything to "better themselves, and the rest of humanity".

They'd have to be some serious perks to make more than a select few people get off of their asses, is all I'm saying.

[Mikey]

This reason pales compared to tangible rewards, but... what else do you do? My father retired, and found himself going nuts while rattling around the house until he picked up some part-time work, a tennis league, a poker league, etc., etc.

I was out of work for most of last summer, and as nice as it may sound you can't just sit on your ass all day.

[sunnyside]

The issue of money is Trek is a little convoluted. They use credits, and can get latinum when they want to go to Quarks, but it is said over and over that they have no money.

My interpritation is that you get certain things along with your station. Certain allowances to what you can do, what you can replicate etc, part of that being some allowance to turn your allotments into alien currencies. But it isn't very easily transfered between indaviduals. At least not in a way that you could use the transfers to pay for criminal activity.

I think the Starships we see are a fair example of what could motivate people. The captain gets to tell others what to do, go off planet when they like, and they get the fancy room. Rickey redshirt gets put in a little room and then gets killed by a flower on an away mission.

Actually in many ways its similarish now. Many countrys have enough socialism you can not work and survive. It just kinda sucks.

[Captain Picard's Hair]

This reason pales compared to tangible rewards, but... what else do you do? My father retired, and found himself going nuts while rattling around the house until he picked up some part-time work, a tennis league, a poker league, etc., etc.

I was out of work for most of last summer, and as nice as it may sound you can't just sit on your ass all day.

Most definitely agreed; this was my experience when I was out of college (as my essay noted)

[Tsukiyumi]

...as nice as it may sound you can't just sit on your ass all day.

I agree. Try telling that to my neighbors, though. They occasionally get off their asses to play basketball, or hang out on the stairs, but if they have jobs, they're clearly under-the-table, work when you feel like it jobs (if you catch my drift).

[Duskofdead]

There's no evidence whatsoever that humans in the Federation or Starfleet choose a career path based on it providing more credits, resources, or anything else. Humans who operate outside of the Federation and with alien civilizations, yes, but your typical Federation human, no. In fact I can't think of any bit of dialogue whatsoever; sometimes distinctions where made when humans implied that Starfleet made sure its people got good resources and tools and what not, whereas perhaps not as much was available on border or colony worlds still developing. But nothing along the lines of "well I'm a doctor, so I'm much better off than the Dabo girl."

I think it's pride, and the idea that you are doing something to help advance your people/government/race and the values involved therein. Don't forget that the humans we see are the descendants of a post-WWIII holocaust. After a holocaust like that, you could pretty much assume those who were willing to work and carry their own weight survived. Those who didn't, died. We live (those of us in advanced western nations, anyhow) in a very spoiled society decades into sustained peace- most of us have to go back 3, 5, 10 generations to name a relative who fought actually defending our country from a foreign invader on our soil. We're spoiled. So we can't conceive of a society like the Federation's, and we tend to take our own flaws and failings (many of which are culturally specific or contextual) and apply them universally to all of the human race, for all time, in any conceivable society or configuration. We haven't lived through what 24th century humanity has, so it's apples and oranges trying to understand it in a way that makes 100% sense to us, from our own social and historical lens.

Oh P.S. I think there are social factors too. I think 24th century humans for the most part don't tolerate their friends or family members doing nothing.

[Tsukiyumi]

...Oh P.S. I think there are social factors too. I think 24th century humans for the most part don't tolerate their friends or family members doing nothing.

So, it's peer pressure, then?

[Duskofdead]

...Oh P.S. I think there are social factors too. I think 24th century humans for the most part don't tolerate their friends or family members doing nothing.

So, it's peer pressure, then?

That is pretty much what establishes values and virtues in ANY culture. Why would you hold any belief both your parents and all your friends acted dismissive about?

[Tsukiyumi]

Why would you hold any belief both your parents and all your friends acted dismissive about?

Actually, I currently hold a number of beliefs my parent and friends find... abstract at best. I chalk it up to their lesser intellects, and lack of relevent knowledge.

[Duskofdead]

Why would you hold any belief both your parents and all your friends acted dismissive about?

Actually, I currently hold a number of beliefs my parent and friends find... abstract at best. I chalk it up to their lesser intellects, and lack of relevent knowledge.

Well anyone can learn, grow, change. To be honest most of that comes out of rebelling. Either rebelling cause you don't wanna go to church, rebelling cause youw anna be able to date before your parents say you can, etc. So fast forward 20 years and you have an individual who doesn't believe in being sexually uptight or religious or what have you. However society as a general mass-- yes, values are enforced through peer pressure. Belch in a church in the deep south and see what happens.

[Graham Kennedy]

Since basic needs are mostly taken care of, what incentive besides pride would there be to do... well, anything in the type of society depicted in 'Trek? I imagine certain perks would be denied the average Joe Citizen, so there's some motivation, but what about people like Joe Sisko? I didn't see that he got anything for his restaurant's efforts besides the pride of "a job well done". Could people ever become so generous and benign? I'm not sure what I think, personally.

Well it's pure speculation, but I imagine it works along the lines of Iain M. Banks' Culture novels. He has a moneyless society where people basically do whatever they want to do. You're perfectly entitled to just sit around and do nothing, and a lot of people do exactly that. But there are a fraction of people who choose to work on one thing or another just to avoid boredom, give themselves a sense of achievement, etc. The system works because they have a very high level of automation, which means that the few who work are easily capable of supplying the needs of the many who don't.

[Tsukiyumi]

...Belch in a church in the deep south and see what happens.

I'd laugh my ass off.

My parents allowed me to make my own choices from a young age, and never imposed their values or beliefs on me. That's why mom and I can have a normal grown-up conversation on any topic without much of the filler bullsh*t most people put into conversations with relatives.

GK- I guess that would work, with the extreme level of automation I continually advocate.