Comments by "David Ford" (@davidford3115) on "Whatifalthist" channel.

Indeed. Zephram Cochrane's warp flight and first contact signaled the ending of the Post Atomic Horror, though it would take at least another 30 years or so (Q's court of 2079) before the barbarism would finally come to an end.
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The problem is that intuitions established to manage humanity often become more concerned with perpetuating its power and maintaining that power rather than adapting to the needs of those it is meant to manage. This manifests in corruption and graft combined with nepotism to make a once efficient system grossly inefficient by rewarding vanity rather than merit.
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@Chef_JRod The problem with collectivism is that it is diametrically opposed to the idea of individualism and self-sovereignty. The two are anathema to each other. Now, I do agree that in a post scarcity society, other motivations take the forefront. Where Trek both Gene Rodenberry's and Alex Kurtzman fail to account is that hedonism replaces the struggle to survive. Aldous Huxley in "Brave New World" deconstructed the fatal flaws of a post-scarcity "utopia".
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@fredjohnson9833 Expanding is in effect a variation of the struggle to survive. The whole reason for the age of discovery and the colonization of the New World was because over-population in Europe created fierce competition for limited resources. By moving to the new world, people could compete not against connections and pedigree (basically against their fellow man), but against nature itself which was a much easier challenge. I don't disagree that competition is a good thing, but the problem both then in 17th century Europe as today is that the power mongers at the top have decreed that it is a zero-sum game and forced artificial scarcity and limits. Rather than let things play out, they try to game the system to keep themselves at the top while crushing everyone else, stifling their ability to survive. That will occur regardless of technology.
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