foarp
mattsteinglass
Isn’t the Prime Directive kind of paleo-conservative?
4 Comments so far
Leave a comment
Daniel Larison (a fan despite his political inclinations) on Star Trek:
There is almost nothing in the franchise’s politics that I find attractive, and the regular sermonizing was at times very unpleasant.
Isn’t the Prime Directive’s doctrine of non-interference in the affairs of (particularly underdeveloped) alien civilizations a classically paleo-con non-interventionist position? I would have thought Larison of all people would find it appealing.
4 Comments so far
Leave a comment
Speaking as a sometimes-paleo-conservative, I would say that I don’t find the Prime Directive particularly meaningful politically.
If the Federation found a pre-warp planet, and came down and actively spent tax money (or the Federation non-monetary equivalent) on improving and fixing up that planet’s people and tech, _that_ would be against my semi-isolationist principles.
And if the Romulans and the Klingons started a war with each other, I would stay out of it, to the extent that it did not directly threaten me, or involve some egregious moral crime. Or if there was a rebellion inside the Klingon empire, I would not get involved in that either, in most cases.
From my perspective, though, if a captain of a US vessel came across a primitive island, and told the people on the island about the US, and gave them some basic improvements in hygiene and such, that would not be a problem for me.
concern about “corrupting primitive cultures” seems (to me) to be more of a left-wing issue than a right-wing one.
Comment by jb May 11, 2009 @ 11:34 pm[…] #6: Matt Steinglass and Larison on the Prime Directive. Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)New FGI […]
Pingback by Spock’s Blog Would Be Fascinating « Around The Sphere May 12, 2009 @ 7:11 am[…] Matt Steinglass raises a good question in response to my Star Trek post below: Isn’t the Prime Directive’s doctrine of non-interference in the affairs of (particularly underdeveloped) alien civilizations a classically paleo-con non-interventionist position? […]
Pingback by Eunomia » What About The Prime Directive? February 6, 2010 @ 3:11 amhi all,
I am new here and , worrying to gain understanding of some things here.
Sorry for my bad english i m Belarus
Thanks.
camspotadult.com
Comment by JackieKU February 17, 2010 @ 11:00 pm