The Politics of Star Trek [recurso electrónico] : Justice, War, and the Future

The Star Trek franchise reflects, conveys, and comments upon the key philosophical tensions of the modern era. This book details the manner in which these tensions and controversies are manifested in Star Trek across its iterations, arguing that Star Trek offers an indispensable contribution to our understanding of politics in the modern era. Front Matter....Pages i-ix Introduction....Pages 1-13 Star Trek (the Original Series)....Pages 15-30 Star Trek, Utopia, and Pragmatism....Pages 31-53 Star Trek, American Military Policy, and the Developing World....Pages 55-71 Star Trek and the Clash of Civilizations....Pages 73-85 Star Trek and World Government....Pages 87-101 Star Trek and Technologies of Empire....Pages 103-115 Star Trek: Why Do Soldiers Fight in Modern Warfare?....Pages 117-129 Star Trek, the Dominant Social Paradigm, and the Lack of an Environmental Ethos....Pages 131-143 The Politics of State Building....Pages 145-163 Lost in the Developing World....Pages 165-183 Conclusion....Pages 185-192 Back Matter....Pages 193-219 The Star Trek franchise reflects, conveys, and comments upon the key philosophical tensions of the modern era: pragmatism vs. justice; universalism vs. traditionalism; empire vs. consensual polity; environmentalism vs. modernity. George A. Gonzalez details the manner in which these tensions and controversies are manifested in Star Trek across its iterations, and in so doing argues that Star Trek offers an indispensable intellectual and analytical contribution to our understanding of the politics of the modern era