In my original essay-series KEEPING VS SHARING, starting here, I provided an overview of the ways in which Liberal ethics prioritize “Sharing” while Conservative ethics prioritize “Keeping.” However, the broad scope of that overview meant that I could not address certain finer points.
One personal note: for most of my life, I considered myself a Liberal. However, I belonged to that now nearly extinct subspecies known as the “Classical Liberal,” a group largely crowded out by a more toxic form of Liberalism often called “the Progressive.” Though Classical Liberals were never perfect, they possessed a definite ethical compass validated by many (though not all) historical developments. I am proud to say that I was never drawn into the barren pseudo-ethics of the Progressive, whose message often reduces to, “Share what we tell you to share—even if we, the movement’s leaders, do not practice what we preach.” Still, rather than fully embracing Conservative ethics, I consider myself a Centrist, attempting to chart a course between the extreme virtues and vices of both systems.
Classical Liberalism may never return to the political sphere, but its distinctions from Toxic Progressivism can be effectively illustrated by examining the ethical stances depicted, episode by episode, in STAR TREK THE ORIGINAL SERIES. Under the aegis of both Gene Roddenberry and his successor Fred Freiberger, the series demonstrates that the Liberalism of that era was not obsessively fixated on the Sharing ethic alone. The architects of Classic-Liberal Trek understood that even the generous must sometimes guard their borders.
Not every episode presents a strong ethical alignment with one system or another. Some stories are simply life-and-death conflicts for the central characters, who naturally engage the audience’s sympathies on a visceral level. However, the majority of Trek tales seek to align sympathetic characters with either Liberal (“Sharing”) or Conservative (“Keeping”) ethical frameworks. Taking each relevant episode in broadcast order, I will summarize which attitude the narrative emphasizes. To keep these summaries concise, I will avoid breaking down individual actions by specific characters, instead referring to the collective protagonists as “The Trekkers.” It is not a perfect term, but the writers never provided a better alternative.
And so we begin with THE MAN TRAP, in which the Trekkers confront “The Salt Vampire,” a genderfluid alien that preys upon humans. Even though the creature is the last of its kind, the Trekkers must KEEP faith with their own species and eliminate the threat.
In CHARLIE X, the Trekkers attempt to “share” human culture with a shipwrecked young man. But Charlie has been granted godlike powers, and the Trekkers must KEEP their distance from any adolescent deity with anger issues.
Venturing into WHERE NO MAN HAS GONE BEFORE—if one does not count Adam and Eve immediately after eating the fruit of knowledge—the Trekkers learn a lesson similar to that of CHARLIE X: KEEP away from “men (and women) like gods.”
THE NAKED TIME presents a scenario in which everyone casts off the restraints of the social contract and begins “sharing” whatever impulses arise. The Trekkers resort to time travel to reverse the breakdown and KEEP their psyches intact.
THE ENEMY WITHIN—Through the example of one Kirk too many, the Trekkers learn that every individual must SHARE both the good and the evil within in order to function fully in the world.
MUDD’S WOMEN—Though modern sensibilities may resist the notion of women as both goddesses and domestic figures, the Trekkers ultimately reaffirm the old idea that men and women must SHARE the burdens of existence (even setting aside the question of progeny).
WHAT ARE LITTLE GIRLS MADE OF? poses the question, but the answer becomes: do not be so trusting that you fail to KEEP your distance from robots posing as humans. (Data would be mortified.)
THE CORBOMITE MANEUEVER—The Trekkers use deception to “keep” a potential enemy at bay, only to discover that both sides ultimately SHARE in an implicit extraterrestrial brotherhood.
THE CONSCIENCE OF THE KING—”Neither a borrower nor a ‘sharer’ be”: justice must be KEPT by uncovering the sins of a ruler, even when those sins echo into the next generation.
BALANCE OF TERROR—Who will KEEP sovereignty in a conflict between rival powers?
ARENA—Though the original source material emphasized “keeping” the upper hand against one’s enemy, here the Trekkers learn instead to SHARE the universe with a perceived rival.
COURT MARTIAL—”In the name of a humanity that KEEPS truth, as opposed to those damn dirty machines that can be programmed to lie, I demand the correct verdict!”
THE RETURN OF THE ARCHONS—The Trekkers must teach an entire planet, warped by the control of yet another damn dirty machine, to KEEP the Federation’s counsel on how a civilization should function.
SPACE SEED—Though the Trekkers cannot allow an autocrat to regain power, they nevertheless find a way for him to SHARE in the manifest destiny of taming the final frontier.
A TASTE OF ARMAGEDDON—Here, a planet’s inhabitants believe they can regulate the death toll of war to avoid true catastrophe. The Trekkers remind them to KEEP an awareness of how chaotic and terrible death really is.
THIS SIDE OF PARADISE—No flaming sword is required here to KEEP the Trekkers from succumbing to the dangers of Eden.
THE DEVIL IN THE DARK—Kill the monster! Oh—it is a mother? And one capable of saving humans immense labor? Then perhaps she belongs in “The Not So Secret SHARER.”
ERRAND OF MERCY—”Who will ‘keep’ sovereignty in a war of rival powers?” It would seem to be either the Trekkers or the Klingons—until a third force compels both sides to stand down and SHARE.
THE CITY ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER—”Though they’re disapprovin’, KEEP them time-dogies movin’,” ensuring they proceed in the correct direction so that the right side wins World War Two—even if it means sacrificing the woman Kirk loves.
More to come.
***
English (US) · 