Difference between revisions of "United Federation of Planets"
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The Federation, or at least parts of it, seem to operate on a socialist or even communist economic model. Evidence includes the lack of currency in many episodes, descriptions of the Federation's non-capitalist economy base, and government monopolies that appear to control space travel, interstellar communications, and scientific research. | The Federation, or at least parts of it, seem to operate on a socialist or even communist economic model. Evidence includes the lack of currency in many episodes, descriptions of the Federation's non-capitalist economy base, and government monopolies that appear to control space travel, interstellar communications, and scientific research. | ||
In the TNG episode "Offspring", the Federation attempted to declare [[Lal]] Starfleet property, despite previously ruling such an action as tantamount to slavery. This tendency to ignore checks on their power is more characteristic of a dictatorship then a democracy, despite the Federation's ostensible love of | In the TNG episode "Offspring", the Federation attempted to declare [[Lal]] Starfleet property, despite previously ruling such an action as tantamount to slavery. This tendency to ignore checks on their power is more characteristic of a dictatorship then a democracy, despite the Federation's ostensible love of freedom. | ||
==Territory== | ==Territory== | ||
Revision as of 23:26, 27 June 2008
The United Federation of Planets is a major political entity in the Alpha Quadrant of the Milky Way galaxy in Star Trek.
Organization
The Federation is governed by a President and the Federation Council, both of which have offices on Earth. The means by which Federation officials attain their positions has never been clearly described.
Attributes
The Federation, or at least parts of it, seem to operate on a socialist or even communist economic model. Evidence includes the lack of currency in many episodes, descriptions of the Federation's non-capitalist economy base, and government monopolies that appear to control space travel, interstellar communications, and scientific research.
In the TNG episode "Offspring", the Federation attempted to declare Lal Starfleet property, despite previously ruling such an action as tantamount to slavery. This tendency to ignore checks on their power is more characteristic of a dictatorship then a democracy, despite the Federation's ostensible love of freedom.
Territory
The Federation consists of approximately 150 member planets spread across approximately 8,000 light-years of space (Star Trek: First Contact). They share borders with the Klingon Empire, the Romulan Star Empire, and the Cardassian Union.
Major planetary members of the Federation include Earth, Vulcan, and Betazed.
Threat Assessment
The Federation has technology comparable to that of the other major powers in the Alpha Quadrant. Their military readiness, however, is lacking compared to that of their neighbors. While their ships are individually powerful, often substantially more powerful than those of their neighbors, they tend to be few in number, as indicated by the perpetual shortage of ships in position to respond to military emergencies. Furthermore, many Starfleet officers do not regard Starfleet as a military organization (despite its control of nearly all military assets in the Federation), and Starfleet itself does not conduct routine combat exercises to keep its crews prepared for military action.