Starfleet's Prime Directive: Good policy?

[Destructionator XV]

I've read numerous texts in the past where people would say Starfleet's directive of non-interference is moral cowardace or outright immoral.

I disagree.

First, I will define the PD.

It says no Starfleet ship or personnel shall interfere with the internal devlopment of any other world.

Starfleet won't even interfere with the internal affairs of their close ally, the Klingon Empire (seen in Redemption [TNG]).

They also will not even reveal themselves to a society without warp drive (seen in First Contact [TNG]).

However, if the society already knows of their existance, perhaps through contact with another race (like the planet in "Ardra" [TNG] which had warp, let go of that tech, but then had dealings with Klingons then the Federation) or if they initiate the contact (Pen Pals [TNG]) Starfleet may talk to them.

It does not apply to non-starfleet citizens.

Why is warp drive a marker on if Starfleet will talk to them? Simple: since they have warp, they are eventually going to meet the Federation anyways, and Starfleet would rather have that first contact on their terms.

Consider the dollars too when thinking about Federation policy. Why won't they introduce themselves to them until they have to? Because it would cost them resources.

The Federation simply doesn't have the resources to have relations with every little society they meet, and they certainly don't have the resources to help every problem they see.

You might ask, why don't they do what they can with their resources? I think this has to do with public view. Starfleet can help planet X, but if it does, they can't do anything about planet Y. So they decide to let both fend for themselves to avoid problems like "why would you help them but not us?"

Is it morally wrong? I don't think so. The simple fact is it is not practical for them to do everything. Is it morally right? No. They could do a little more than they do.

But again, look at the cost vs the benefits. It costs money to send starships places. If it is not going give a good of chance of gain to the Federation, why should they get involved?

For that reason, I think the Federation's Prime Directive is good policy.

Rebuttals?

note: I mention money alot here. Don't bother saying the Federation has no money, there the point is moot. They might not call it money, but it is the same idea: starships and their crews are limited resources.

[The Silence and I]

In principle I agree with you.

Looking at it from an economic and political POV the Prime Directive makes perfect, absolute sense. They cannot help everyone, and they avoid political problems by helping no one who cannot ask for it.

From a moral POV it is a little hazier. Obviously they cannot do the ideal thing and help everyone, but they can help many that they don't. I think what makes it ok in my eyes is their justification (whatever their reasons were is to me irrelevant): if they can help planet X or planet Y but not both, then they have to choose which one gets the aid. Now, often you will not have a hard descision, planet X has a huge asteroid incoming, and planet Y only has a relatively minor viral endemic. One will survive and one will not, so help X, prevent its death. However, sooner or later you will face a harder problem, where both X and Y face the same degree of danger and have equal claim to aid. How do you choose? The Federation makes the arguement that humans should never make such a choice if they can help it, because humans should never have that kind of power over lives--it will go to their heads and arrogance will lead to abuse of power will to lead to another fall into the dark actions of man's past.

Is that a slippery slope fallicy? Maybe so, but it is what all the true idealists strongly, strongly believe. They really believe (or at least Picard does) that such power will absolutely be the downfall of man. So they cannot be allowed to make that choice, no one can.


In this light you can see where Picard is coming from in Insurrection: in the grand scheme of things it is hard to feel over sorry for 500 people when billions can benefit--for their mere hardship (not death). But Picard argues that forced relocation does far more harm than the mere scale of the movement might suggest--I suspect he is speaking of the harm it does to the movers as much as to those being moved. Allow the Federation to decide to force the Baku off their world, and what will they feel empowered to decide next? His (Picard's) whole way of life depends on maintaining this kind of strict code; moving the Baku in his mind could spell the beginning of the end of the Federation.*

*Not as a political power, but as a society. Humans will go on, but they won't be the "new humans" or whatever Gene called them.

[Cynical Cat]

The Prime Directive, as portayed in TOS, made sense. From both a moral and practical point of view, it would be hard to interviene successfully in an alien culture and easy to screw it up. But that didn't mean you never did it. Kirk and his crew cleaned up Prime Directive violations (gangster planet, nazi planet, Yangs and the Coms) and interviened in badly malfunctioning societies or ones threatened by serious problems they could not save themselves from (plagues that struck when the population went through puberty, planet killer asteroids, rogue computers running societies).

In TOS it was understood that the Prime Directive was a guiding principle, not unalterable holy writ. If the cause was serious enough, it could be broken. The consequences of acting or not acting mattered. In subsequent Star Trek shows, the Federation stands by and lets whole populations die off when it could easily save them (most odiously in Enterprise, but Worf's brother has to engage in trickery to save in a few people from planetary destruction). The rule has become more important than the outcome.

[frigidmagi]

Wait? Didn't Picard intervene in Klingon Empire's affairs up to his French neck when he selected their leader and during the klingon civil war?

Sisko intervenes regularly into Bajorian affairs in DS9... Doesn't the Prime Directive apply only to pre-warp civs?

[Cynical Cat]

Wait? Didn't Picard intervene in Klingon Empire's affairs up to his French neck when he selected their leader and during the klingon civil war?

Sisko intervenes regularly into Bajorian affairs in DS9... Doesn't the Prime Directive apply only to pre-warp civs?

Yep. The Fed wouldn't sign off on Picard meddling in their allies internal affairs for the same reasons modern countries don't, which is why his actions were confined to his anti Romulan blockade.