Trekonomics The Economics of Star Trek by Manu Saadia

Star Trek is set in an amazing utopian universe of faster-thanlight travel, of "beam me up, Scotty," and of Vulcan salutes. It's also a universe where war and poverty have been eradicated, money doesn't exist, and work is indistinguishable from leisure. In this groundbreaking book, timed to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of Star Trek's first episode, Manu Saadia takes a deep dive into the show's most radical and provocative aspect: its detailed and consistent economic vision.
Could we create such a utopia here on Earth? And why has Star Trek's future had such staying power in our cultural imagination? Trekonomics looks at the morals, values, and hard economics that underpin the series' ideal society, and its sources of inspiration both inside and outside the sciencefiction canon. After reading this book, you'll be able to answer the question, if you could live in Star Trek's economic utopia, would you want to?
"Like Star Trek itself, the book is about more than spaceships and aliens; it illuminates the present by showing a future to strive for." -- Publishers Weekly
"Saadia proves that Star Trek is an even more valuable cultural icon than we ever suspected."-- Charlie Jane Anders, former editor-in-chief, io9
"Trekonomics is a fanciful romp through the economic theories that underpin Final Frontier life in the mid-22nd through late-24th centuries--as seen through the eyes of an erudite, if occasionally fawning, fan. But the book is also a serious and informative economic discourse, complete with a forward by Berkeley professor Brad DeLong. --Ben Geier & Robert Hackett, Fortune
"In Trekonomics, Saadia reminds us of what made Star Trek such a bold experiment in the first place: its Utopian theme of human culture recovering from capitalism. Smart, funny, and wise, this book is a great work of analysis for fans of Star Trek, and a call to arms for fans of economic justice." -- Annalee Newitz, tech culture editor, Ars Technica
"Trekonomics will change the way you see three different universes: the one that Gene Rodenberry created, the one we're in, and the one we're headed towards." -- Felix Salmon, senior editor, Fusion
"Manu Saadia has managed to show us one more reason, perhaps the most compelling one of all, why we all need the world of Star Trek to one day become the world we live in." -- Chris Black, Writer and Co-Executive Producer, Star Trek: Enterprise
"Like many classics of eighteenth-century literature, Star Trek used fantasy travel to explore problems close to home. Unlike Gulliver's Travels or Candide, however, it also suggested answers. Trekonomics takes seriously the promise of those solutions. Make it so!" -- Rebecca Spang, Indiana University, author of The Invention of the Restaurant and Stuff and Money in the Time of the French Revolution
"A post-scarcity economy is actually far more within reach than the technological advances for which Star Trek is better known." --The New York Times
"Almost fifty years after Captain Kirk first took the U.S.S. Enterprise on a voyage to explore strange new worlds, the Star Trek universe is more expansive than ever. It's been the subject of serious study by political scientists, sociologists, even religion researchers -- a sign of how deeply influential the show and its ideas have become. Star Trek posits a world in which hunger, war and poverty have been eliminated -- a utopia that isn't just free from want, but also free from capitalism and even currency." --The Washington Post
Manu Saadia was born in Paris, France, where he fell into science fiction and Star Trek fandom at the age of eight. He studied history of science and economic history in Paris and Chicago. His work on Trekonomics has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Business Insider. Manu Saadia is a contributing writer for Fusion.net. He lives in Los Angeles with his son and his wife.