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Would like never jack off
(Holodecks are affordable right?)
What do you mean affordable, the federation is post scarcity
Post-scarcity doesn't mean that everyone can have everything, though. It just accomplishes the goal of UBI, satisfying basic needs.
I'm only about 3/4 of the way through TNG so I am probably setting myself up to be corrected, but it's not like you can simply replicate things like a personal starship or a palatial mansion in the mountains. Some people still have assets with inherent value which are relatively exclusive.
Replicators allow everyone's basic needs to be met—to live comfortably, even—but it seems like some goods still need to be either rationed selectively or distributed based on merit. People still "own" things; property still exists. People still work jobs that they hate, so there must be a reason they put up with it. Some Federation citizens also still turn to crime, indicating that they desire more than the system otherwise provides. And even with the abolition of traditional currency, the concept of generational wealth still exists, as we see with Picard's family estate.
Regarding Holodecks in particular, they seem like things that normal people have access to, but they don't seem to be common in homes (at least from the examples I've seen so far). I assume it must be something like movie theaters: most people use public ones, while bigwigs might have their own they can use whenever. And anything that is public must be time or resource regulated in some fashion, so at some point someone would order you to leave so others could use it.
At least based on what I've seen so far, it seems like an economy still exists within the Federation, just a more abstract one than we are used to seeing in the real world.
Starfleet is very bureaucratic. I'd imagine a massive reason not everyone has everything is simply the hoops you'd have to jump through to acquire it. Imagine the safety regulations necessary for a galaxy class starship! Similar applies to holodecks. They are super dangerous. And you can't just build a mansion anywhere livable as there's usually something living there you would disrupt in the first place.
nope, big things are built with "industrial replicators". the only thing they can't make is a material called latinum, which is sought after by the ferengi precisely because it's the only scarce thing left.
also, there's a distinction to be made between "private" and "personal" property. people still own things, but it's for sentimental reasons. like, you wouldn't have a toolbox or a statue or a mansion unless it was your "lucky" toolbox or "antique" statue or a "family" mansion. things only have sentimental value, not monetary value.
but you're right in that an economy exists, because the federation still needs to do outside trade and freight. it's just more of a bartering system.
also, people on DS9 tend to carry latinum around due to the ferengi presence. the bar in ds9 just has the same replicators that all the rooms do, but it's like a custom to buy a drink at the bar and gamble.
Curious how they decide who lives in desirable spots. Like Cali coast of something similar?
i was thinking of that as well, like surely land would still have value. don't know if it's ever addressed though.
There's also just things, like, Picard "owns" a vineyard, because he inherited it. For those who don't have generational wealth, how would one just get a vineyard if they want one? If they're willing to put in the work themselves, is anyone just entitled to a large tract of fertile land in a temperate zone if they ask for it? Or can anyone just get a penthouse apartment in the heart of a major city if they want one?
Even if these things no longer have monetary value, they still have some sort of intrinsic value, and that means things to people. If the federation government can't provide a vineyard or a penthouse to anyone who asks for one just due to population and land/infrastructure limitations, that's still scarcity of a sort.
They definitely cover that in Lower Decks: https://youtu.be/-YeTDrk5ayw