Trekonomics: The Economics of Star Trek is a 2016 book by French economist Manu Saadia. The book deals with the topic of the scarcity in the economy by looking at it in reverse. The author describes the 24th-century Star Trek universe in which scarcity does not exist at all. The book explores a post-scarcity age and how our society would need to change to adapt itself to such an environment. It looks at the expectations regarding automation and artificial intelligence and takes readers through a journey of the fictional, moneyless world of Star Trek. It also looks at the challenges to the Star Trek economy. Saadia concludes that "Post-scarcity is not so much a matter of material wealth or natural bounty, but an organizational option for society". In 2017 the Trekonomics audiobook was a finalist for an Audie Award in the "Business/Personal Development" category.
Summary Throughout human history, most people in the world had and still have to deal with scarcity of resources. Yet new technologies promising reduction or even elimination of scarcity are on the horizon. We must think about how to deal with this technological change. In the future of post-scarcity, we will not have to worry about money. We may not need to work to earn resources, which will be abundant, so we can escape from the fear of scarcity. Instead of that, we will work to get reputation and respect. Star Trek is the most famous example of the post-scarcity society. Saadia analysed the economics of Star Trek, based on various comments and observations related to this aspect as seen in various episodes of the show. He asks the readers "What would the world look like if everyone had everything they wanted or needed?" The author argues that while a warp drive may not be possible, post-scarcity economy is much more realistic.
Structure The first chapter focuses on Star Trek's universe (primarily, the United Federation of Planets, or Federation for short) and the absence of currency in it. In a society where the economic problems have been overcome, money is meaningless. It explains how that nation functions without the pricing mechanism and the results of eliminating money as both a unit of account and as an information signal. The status of human labor in the Star Trek universe is the topic of the second chapter. The Star Trek universe is a utopia because people do not have to work, but yet the ones we see on the show are all paradoxically very busy. The motivations of people who chose to work are analyzed. The third chapter talks about the replicator, the machine that makes Star Trek's post-scarcity possible. Post-scarcity's meaning is the infinite social wealth. The replicator is as a metaphor for automation, and an endpoint of the industrial revolution. Crucially, in the Star Trek's society it and its products are public good. The fourth chapter focuses on natural limits of growth. In particular, it deals with the issue of whether resources are indeed limited, and how can different societies coexist if some view resources as limited and others, like the Federation, much less so. It also tackles examples to examine that Star Trek's universe follows the economic theory. The fifth chapter is focused on negative externalities, such as whether different alien species (and their governments) can manage common resources. This chapter analyses the Star Trek-themed prisoner's dilemma game, and discusses whether rational and well-governed societies, like the idealistic and utopian Federation, can react appropriately when faced with an uncooperative foreign power. This chapter considers the theories of Elinor Ostrom who discusses methods of solving similar scenarios by using mutually beneficial collective action. A simple history of Star Trek and Trekonomics is introduced in the sixth chapter. The seventh chapter explains human behavior and nature. Some Star Trek characters, such as Spock and Captain Picard, are completely different from 21st-century humans. They live free from economic necessity, so they devote their lives to science and justice. The chapter highlights how economic behaviours and psychology change under the post-scarcity. The eighth chapter deals with the Ferengi, an economically powerful alien species in the Star Trek universe, with an economy based on trade and capitalism. They are profit seekers, and all profit seekers can change. Deep Space 9, the third show, tells about how the Ferengi abandon their old ways and evolve into Keynesian social democrats. The final chapter reveals how the Star Trek society already exists in some local and unevenly distributed forms. The expanding world prosperity, combined with the spread of public goods on a global scale, and the rise of "free" goods and services makes society approach ever closer to Trekonomics, the challenge being mainly distributional rather than technological.
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