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Episode 108: The Politics of Star Trek (with Timothy Sandefur)

4,413 views · Published 16 November 2015 · 58:28 · Indexed 12 November 2026

Channel: Libertarianism.org · 2015 · News & Politics

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Timothy Sandefur joins us for a discussion on political philosophy in the science fiction franchise Star Trek.

The celebrated science fiction franchise Star Trek is well known for incorporating broad discussions of philosophy and ethical conundrums into its episodes and movies. Timothy Sandefur joins us to talk about how the series deals with some of these big questions.

How does Star Trek: The Original Series reflect the way people thought about politics, justice, and human rights in the wake of the second World War? How does the series change over time? The Prime Directive: is it moral? What was its purpose in the original series if Captain Kirk violated it half the time?

Show Notes and Further Reading

Sandefur’s original article “The Politics of Star Trek” appeared in the Summer 2015 issue of the Claremont Review of Books.
http://www.claremont.org/crb/article/the-politics-of-star-trek/

Star Trek: The Original Series episodes referenced in this podcast episode:

“The Way to Eden”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_to_Eden

“The Conscience of the King”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Conscience_of_the_King

“The Apple”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Apple_(Star_Trek:_The_Original_Series)

“Spock’s Brain”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spock%27s_Brain

“Arena”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arena_(Star_Trek:_The_Original_Series)

“Plato’s Stepchildren”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato%27s_Stepchildren

“Space Seed”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Seed

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