Dan at Happy Fun Pundit has compiled a list of the ten things he hates most about Star Trek. Probably my favorite:

9. The Federation.

This organization creeps me out. A planet-wide government that runs everything, and that has abolished money. A veritable planetary DMV. Oh sure, it looks like a cool place when you’re rocketing around in a Federation Starship, but I wonder how the guy driving a Federation dump truck feels about it?

And everyone has to wear those spandex uniforms. Here’s an important fact: Most people, you don’t want to see them in spandex. You’d pay good money to not have to see them. If money hadn’t been abolished, that is. So you’re screwed.

Maybe this just reflects my fundamental bias as a political scientist, but I don’t think society can function without some medium of exchange (incidentally, this is an important thing that Babylon 5 gets right; if someone tells you poverty has been abolished in a given society, your BS detector should start screaming very loudly). In comments, HFP elaborates:

The whole Federation thing always bugged me. There’s no need for money any more? Does that mean there’s no scarcity? Can I have the Feds whip up my own starship for me? Or are there limits? If there are limits, who decides who gets what?

The political structure of Star Trek was silly. The portrayal of the future is totally unrealistic and flies in the face of what we know about human nature.

Of course, HFP is a Firefly fan too, which probably doesn’t hurt. (And before I get hatemail, I like Trek. But sheesh, clichés are clichés!)