RE: Star Trek Is Pretty Much North Korea In Space
That's super interesting--so what we have, then, is an economy in which there are just a few potential bottlenecks: dilithium crystals for energy (for both production and transportation), the large size, limited number, and limited locations of industrial replicators, and then the fairly minor limitations of small replicators for meeting everyday human needs. And, as long as those limitations are overcome by securing a supply of dilithium crystals and managing industrial replicators, the rest of human needs are met: space communism, indeed.
Presumably there are also some things that replicators couldn't do. I recall Whoopi Goldberg having to mix cocktails with a particularly delicate touch, because (apparently) replicators couldn't produce something so volatile. So it did still make sense to have "service" jobs. I don't recall things like haircuts or childcare coming up much, but I suppose those would also be things that relied on humans, and thus would have to be organized in some way.
This has been a great conversation, by the way. Thanks.
Yeah, you can't really replicate a "Flaming Moe" too well. It's all about the process, not the result.
Dilithium crystals also seem to be so hyper-efficient that acquiring them only seems to be a problem if a ship is stranded far from a port for literally years.
By the way, there's another good comment thread going below.