Why Is There No Money In Star Trek? The Economics Of The Federation Explained

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Welcome to Trexpertisea series where we break down the technology, history, details, and decisions that make the Star Trek universe so complex — and so fun.

In the “Star Trek: The Next Generation” episode “The Neutral Zone,” Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) meets a character named Ralph Offenhouse (Peter Mark Richman), who cryogenically froze himself at the end of the 20th century and was awakened in the 24th. Offenhouse is eager to check in on his bank account, hoping that it would have accrued several centuries worth of interest. Captain Picard has to break the bad news that his money is all gone because humans have moved past capitalism in general. “People are no longer obsessed with the accumulation of things,” he explains. “We’ve eliminated hunger, want, the need for possessions. We’ve grown out of our infancy.”

It’s a little preachy, that speech, but it exemplifies one of the more utopian notions behind “Star Trek” — namely, that money is gone. “Star Trek” presents an optimistic future wherein miracle technologies are given away for free, allowing resources to be properly distributed for those who need it. If a distant planet is suffering from a plague, for instance, faster-than-light engines can deliver the needed medicine ASAP. If a planet is starving, “Star Trek” has replicator technology that can manifest food seemingly out of thin air.

But that’s just the Federation. There are many other non-Federation worlds in “Star Trek” that still operate on capitalist systems and accrue money as a means of trade. The Federation deals with these worlds all the time, and one might wonder how inter-species commerce works when one of the sides has no money.

How, for instance, do Starfleet officers pay for their drinks at Quark’s Bar on “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”? Do they engage in barter? Use temporary credits? Let’s look into that.

The names of currencies are sometimes alluded to, and commerce seems to exist everywhere in “Star Trek,” although it is always wielded by greedy villains who have not, to borrow Picard’s words, grown out of their infancy.

Villains long for cash. It was established very early in “Star Trek” that money was still a highly motivating force among the galaxy, at least outside of the Federation. One of the very earliest episodes of the series, “Mudd’s Women,” introduced the character of Harcourt Fenton Mudd (Roger C. Carmel), a dandyish con man eager to make a buck (or whatever the 23rd-century equivalent of a “buck” was). Mudd is one of the most hated characters on “Star Trek.”

Gambling is a problem as well. One might also recall the disembodied brains from the original series episode “The Gamesters of Triskelion” who wagered a currency called quatloos on televised gladiatorial sports. When money is involved, gambling becomes de rigueur. Look in Quark’s Bar on “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” and you’ll see futuristic roulette wheels and card games between the Ferengi (and we’ll get to the Ferengi in a moment). Cheating is common in such games.

Another example of evil capitalism in action: In the third season of “Star Trek: Discovery,” the titular ship is thrown over 900 years into the future to a time when the Federation has crumbled and is replaced by the Emerald Chain, a money-based, gang-ruled system devoted to commerce. The Chain is overseen by corrupt mob bosses who have instilled systems of oppression and slavery to keep the money flowing. The name of their currency isn’t stated aloud, but everything is ruled by exchange, leading to a general degradation of the quality of life in the galaxy.

In short, money = bad. No money = good.

The exploration of the horrors of capitalism on “Star Trek” is, of course, placed mostly in the lap of the Ferengi, a central species on both “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.” The Ferengi, while shrewd and comedic, are often shown to be unscrupulous and villainous in their search for profit. Their entire society revolves around the acquisition of wealth. People have to pay to visit your home. Dead Ferengi cremains are sold in small pieces. One must even buy their way into the Ferengi afterlife. Their holy book of commandments, the Rules of Acquisition, is quoted on “Star Trek” frequently.

The Ferengi Quark (Armin Shimerman) is one of the main characters on “Deep Space Nine,” so Trekkies get a lot of insight into the money he lusts after. (Quark is one of the best characters in all of “Star Trek.”)

Ferengi and other nearby species use a currency called gold-pressed latinum, which comes in denominations of slips, strips, and bars. There are also bricks and even braces, but that much money is rarely seen. The gold in the gold-pressed latinum is largely worthless in the world of “Star Trek,” but every hunk of it contains a small reservoir of a (fictional) liquid metal called latinum, which contains all the currency’s value. It’s never stated explicitly, but one might assume that gold, being a simple element, might be easy to replicate with “Star Trek” replicators, hence diminishing its value. Latinum, meanwhile, seemingly cannot be counterfeited with replicators, making it rarer and better for physical currency.

In the post-“Deep Space Nine” era, most currency exchanges tend to be done with gold-pressed latinum. Ferengi, however, also engage in barter, sometimes swapping out gallons of yamok sauce for self-sealing stem-bolts.

Trekkies know that Starfleet officers don’t get paid. There are offhand comments about officers “earning their paychecks” on the original “Star Trek,” but that could be an anachronistic axiom; Starfleet officers also sometimes talk about “burning the midnight oil.” It was, however, stated explicitly in the 1986 film “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home” that the future has no money. This is reinforced in the 1996 film “Star Trek: First Contact,” wherein Picard notes that 24th-century societies work for the benefit of themselves.

Their currency is prestige — the exhilaration of helping everyone in the galaxy, and the elevation of self-improvement.

Generally, if a Starfleet officer wants to exchange goods with a non-Federation world, they refer to “credits,” which are name-checked multiple times throughout the original “Star Trek.” One might recall that Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) was offered a small, furry pet tribble for ten credits. She’s eventually given it for free, but it’s implied in such dialogue exchanges that Starfleet officers have access to credits with monetary value. How they accrue and store these credits, however, is never made clear. There are no banks.

Then, to buy a drink from Quark’s Bar, a Trekkie might assume that Starfleet has a deal in place for officers to receive a “paycheck” of sorts, or some kind of regular allowance of credits, to buy goods and services from non-Federation worlds. Officers do not hoard latinum, and they don’t need money when working on a ship. Back at home on a Federation world, everything is free. The credits, then, are only for outside exchange.

But mostly, the Federation engages in a barter system. If they need an engine part, they may trade medical supplies, food, or transportation for it. Helping each other is the real currency.