"You should always question the motives of the person telling you the 'facts'" ... I'm on to you MatPat.

Opss. . . Wrong neighborhood *backs up slowly and runs away *

MatPat 2016: "I could have had facial hair." MatPat 2020: facial hair

My dad was listening and said “not in deep space nine. They show it from both points of view in deep space nine.”

Before anyone starts bashing the many flaws and holes in MatPat's theory, know that the point of this video was not to prove that the Federation is Fascist, but rather to make you the viewer understand that you should always question where the facts are coming from.

Quark: I want you to try something for me. Take a sip of this. Garak: What is it? Quark: A human drink; it's called root beer. Garak: I dunno... Quark: Come on. Aren't you just a little bit curious? Garak takes a sip, wincing as he tastes it. Quark: What do you think? Garak: It's vile! Quark: I know. It's so bubbly, cloying...and happy. Garak: Just like the Federation. Quark: And you know what's really frightening? If you drink enough of it, you begin to like it. Garak: It's insidious. Quark: Just like the Federation.

"The needs of the few do not out weigh the needs of the many" is Utilitarianism, not Fascism. The many is not necessarily the state--e.g., the needs of three people out weigh the needs of one person according to Utilitarianism (i.e., the Utilitarian mantra quoted by Spock), despite the three people not necessarily being a state. Utilitarianism may lead to Fascism but it does not imply necessarily Fascism.

Ah, yes, my favorite star trek villain:Bill ney the science guy

All the comments are about Starfleet vs the Federation, or Communism vs Fascism, but no one mentioned the real discrepancy: at 00:10 those are cashews, not pecans...

MatPat, for somebody who supposedly has a good understanding of Star Trek, you seem to be ignorant of some very obvious and important facts about the Star Trek Universe. 1. Star fleet is NOT the Federation, not even close. Star fleet is the Navy of the Federation, nothing more. It reacted to Kirk going AWOL as extremely as it did because Kirk's actions are equivalent to the Captain of a US Aircraft Carrier deciding to enter Russian waters in the middle of the Cold War. The show is from the POV of Star fleet because the show is, and always has been a Naval Drama, with Star Trek being squarely in the same genre as films like "The Hunt For Red October" and the like and therefore is going to, by it's nature, have the characters in a military setting. 2. The Elimination of money was not for some power grab by the federation, it was, and this is very clearly stated more times than I can count, because it was simply not needed. The society had no need for money because they had enough of everything for everyone, so they adopted a "to each a according to their needs" attitude on resources. With the use of replicators all they need was energy and hydrogen in order to produce everything they could ever want, making currency almost ridiculous in federation society. 3. Transport is far from controlled by the Star fleet alone, in the show ships for federation citizens are available and private ship use simply requires logging a flight plan with an FAA style organization, hell in the DS9 episode Explorers, Sisko builds his own ship by hand that he uses to fly all the way to Cardassia from DS9. Communication is equally open to anybody with a Subspace Radio, just because what is usually shown on the show is star fleet does not mean that it is only star fleet with any power over it. 4. The presumption that just because Star fleet has a mission of exploration means that they are equatable to the Conquistadors is nor simply laughable, but makes me question your trustworthiness. Of all of the moral dilemmas addressed in the show's long history, none is more fully addressed more than the nature of their exploration. It is possibly most thoroughly laid forth in the TNG episodes "Who Watches the Watchers" and "First Contact". The first of which shows how when the federation discovers a technologically backwards species, it does not conquer, enslave, or evict the natives, but studies them from afar. To let these people live and grow at their own pace. See, the federation's "resource" they want form this exploration is knowledge, not gold or some other bullshit that requires conquest, but to gain a greater understanding of the world around them. In fact in the latter episode it shows how the federation won't even try to make contact with other civilizations until they develop warp drive. They actively try to prevent their technology from polluting/damaging the alien society. This is not the act of a civilization of fascist colonialists, but the actions of a peaceful and benevolent people. Also the continuous expansion of federation settled planets are ones that are completely devoid of intelligent life. If there is even the smallest sign of sentient life forms in any point of the large amount of surveys that are conducted before a colonists are even sent the planet is declared unfit for colonization. 5. Section 31, The Federation's MIB, is a ROGUE organization from the founding days of the federation that has mutated into the dark organization that is seen in the show. Simply put it is so deeply covered that it's a part of star fleet that the federation doesn't even remember exists. It does not represent federation values and objectives in the 22nd, 23rd, or 24th centuries and should not be considered when debating federation ideology 6. The Abrams-verse Movies are not cannon for a reason. They completely miss or contradict the morals and philosophy of the previous star trek shows and movies. The bundle of sticks metaphor was used out of ignorance, not nuance, as these movies lack that level of nuance to begin with. This lack of nuance and understanding of the base material is actually noted in your comments where you mention how all three have the antagonist being a slight variation of a single character (Khan). Basically the new movies are there to piss on and ruin all that the originals stood for and as such are disregarded in most serious conversations on Star Trek philosophy. 7. The collectivist themes in the show are an endorsement of socialism, which was adopted in the federation because of the post scarcity economy formed in it. Also this is tempered by the existence and conflict with the Borg Collective. The Borg is a show of how pure materialist collectivism functions when not tempered by the democracy and individualism the federation has for it's civilians. TL:DR by equating the Federation to star fleet and relying on non-cannon material you make a claim that the Federation is Fascist, despite your "evidence" being poor or outright false, and what evidence you do bring is cherry picked to a point of your picture of the federation being one of the worst strawmen I've seen in some time.

Star fleet is a military branch, like the navy. We’re not seeing much about how civilian life is.

matpat: from my point of view the federation is evil star treck: then you are truly lost

This is a fun theory, I was entertained, and then I went to the comments section. I saw a lot of people contradicting the video, and I found them right, so I will present it here. 1. Cashews not pecans 2. Starfleet is the navy for The Federation, military action from Starfleet does not pertain to The Federation's entire governing system. 3. Citizens under the Federation still can practice their religious beliefs freely, like the Vulcans with their philosophies of logic, humans with their belief systems, like Native American beliefs shown in Voyager, by Commander Chakotay. 4. Section 31 is a rogue organization, with select admirals knowing of its existence through membership. 5. There are many private companies in the Federation, like Ezri Dax's parents' company, Jennifer's cargo ship from DS9, Picard's brother, Robert Picard, who ran a private vineyard, etc. 6. Gold-pressed latinum was often used by the Federation and Federation personnel alike to pay people, this was mainly shown in DS9, as Federation species like Tellarites were paid in latinum for bounties, and others paid Ferengi, like Quark, for their services as well. 7. Throughout the entire Dominion arc, not one member of even Starfleet was concerned with conquering the empires weakened by the Dominion after the war, save for members of Section 31. 8. In Voyager, Janeway had the choice of leaving an entire civilization to die in order for her crew to go home, and another choice to upset the balance of power in the Delta Quadrant for personal gain, and even in the future, to gain an alliance between Starfleet and the Kazon. In both instances, she went with the route that upheld Federation principles, which was to withhold technology to abide by the Prime Directive, and to sacrifice her own crew to protect the Ocampa. 9. A facist rule would not explain how the Federation has a council, an elected president, and if I may add, a president that was hesitant to take full control over Starfleet in the DS9 episodes "Homefront" and "Paradise Lost." 10. In the original series, one episode presents a member of Starfleet, Professor John Gill, violated the Prime Directive, and transformed a planetary government into Nazi Germany, who killed offworlders on sight. As the episode continues, it is revealed it was not John Gill's original intention to bring up the racist, xenophobic traits of Nazi Germany, and simply wanted to us traditional Facism to bring stability. With his dying words, he told the entire world that the one who made him a puppet, the one who made racism and xenophobia mainstream, did not follow his vision. The one who corrupted the people was arrested, and John died later from being drugged too much. The reason I bring this episode up, is because Kirk asked the professor why he chose Facism. The professor explained, that in the lawlessness of Ekos, the planet, he believed Facism was the most efficient in bringing it into order. And in that episode, there was no president. There was no council, no star fleet indoctrination. If the theory was correct, and people in Starfleet knew they had the power, they would've indoctrinated Ekos, and recognized their own system as Facism, even if they do not admit it to outsiders. But they did not, they used Nazi Germany, instead of their own government, which would've been easy to replicate, instead of diving into history to find another Facist government.

DEAR GOD MAT PAT! Starfleet is a navy, (if my memory serves me right) and a branch of The federation. There are also many ships not owned by starfleet ( cargo ships etc.) also, we don't usually see the life of a federation citizen because the shows and movies were focused on starfleet not the citizens of the federation.

Welp this was painful... Like as everyone else has said Starfleet isn't in control of the Federation... So I hope at some point Matpat revisits it with that in mind

by this logic, isn't the rebellion in Star Wars fascist too?

we have not seen civilian court cases. only military ones. and of cource the officers and crewmen of the military owned vessels will use the communicators made by the military. us army wont use iphones for their communication. what im saying is most stuff we see in star trek is happenings with military personnell and ships. we cant expect everyone on planets to be adhering to the same rules as military personell. after all even colonies have the right to do what they want without any involvement with the federation (exept for protection and possibly communications).

Did anyone else notice the nuts in the opening are Cashews, not Pecans.

Here are the problems with your theory as concisely as possible. 1. The Federation Empowers its citizens even to a Fault. Examples are plentiful, just look at Seven of Nines parents. 2.The Federation does not crush its citizens under the power of the state, if it did, Data would have lost his trial and would have been taken as Starfleet property, or it would have been irrelevant, because in a fascist state, people are the property of the state anyway. 3. The United Federation of Planets is Governed by a Federation Council, whom are shown to be Democratically elected. While Starfleet may be a Military of some sort, no argument there, you can be a Military and not be fascist. Given that this effectively makes The UFP a Grand Republic, I don't see how you can call it a legitimately fascist state, especially given everything else I've added.

At the time of this release starwars had the clone wars show and Star Wars rebels and 7 movies that weren’t splitting the fandom, the good old days

Star Wars also has Rebels, The Clone Wars, and cannon books and comic books.

Not all ships are owned and controlled by the federation.. there are plenty of examples of cargo and commercial ships as well as personal transports.

"Star Wars fans only have to watch seve- errrr... 4 films" Technically 11 films, one live action series, 3 animated series and a number of books. I know this was published in mid 2016, but still...

I like how that in almost every video we get into a really deep discussion and at the end he says "But hey that's justs a theory a Film theory 😂

Matpat: always question the people telling you the facts Me:so we should question you then

Also, everything you listed about it being 'fascist' are either for safety or for MILITARY, not regular citizens, just the military. This entire show is based off a militaristic perspective

"Capitalism is designed to give common man money" Oh , boy

Matpat: You should always question the motives of the person telling you the facts also Matpat: **telling me the facts about tv shows/ movies** me: **confused screaming**

Oh God, MatPat. This is one big disaster. Thankfully there's others before me who have already pointed out the biggest flaws. Just one thing I'll repeat, which shows how little research you actually seem to have done for this video is this: You conflate Starfleet with the United Federation of Planets constantly in the video. Those are not the same. The logo on the communicator is the logo of Starfleet, not the logo of the UFP. The reason why that logo is on there is because those communicators (which are not the only communicators that exist) are only used by Starfleet. And the reason why Starfleet seems to own all the ships you found is because all Star Trek stories are told around Starfleet because Starfleet has the most dramatic potential out of all factions in the universe. No-one wants to watch a series about a warp coil engineer from Milwaukee if we can have the epic saga of the Starship Enterprise. Starfleet (which you have been wrongfully calling the Federation throughout this video) is the military and exploratory navy of the Federation. What you're doing is like calling the United States the US Navy, or Germany the Luftwaffe.

Remember when MatPat made that "Mario is a Communist!?!?!?!" video using obvious clickbait and easily refutable points as a joke? Well, now he's doing it completely seriously.

“I could have had facial hair” don’t worry mat, you’ll get facial hair AND do it for charity

The level of misunderstanding you display compelled me to write this moment-by-moment response to your video. 1)Kirk only saved the universe once, in the Original Series episode "The Alternative Factor". 2)"God Himself" was nothing more than a malevolent noncorporeal entity trying to escape its prison at the centre of the galaxy. It took the forms of gods to try to manipulate people into helping it. 3)You say "The Federation's point of view" while showing the Starfleet logo - the two are not interchangeable! The Federation is the space equivalent of a federated nation, while Starfleet is that nation's military 4)We get a pretty good look at the motives of the "bad guys" in quite a lot of Star Trek - for one thing, large chunks of Deep Space Nine focus on the antagonists, and many, many episodes of The Next Generation have as their moral "Before you pass judgement on someone, you should try to find out why they're doing what they do and see things from their point of view." 5)Not *every* Star Trek episode or film features a Captain's log; in fact, the term you used, "starlog", is only used in Star Trek: Enterprise. The vast majority do though. 6)If it's only the Federation telling us these stories, how do you explain "Living Witness", an episode of Star Trek: Voyager which takes place entirely outside of Federation influence? Or "In a Mirror, Darkly", the two-part Enterprise episode which features none of the main cast members at all? And how do you explain all the times the choices of our protagonists are portrayed explicitly as at the very least *extremely* ethically questionable? Oh god I'm only 2.5 minutes in. 7)ARGH. AGAIN, STARFLEET AND THE FEDERATION ARE NOT THE SAME THING! 8)Yes, Starfleet's exploration does help them to spread word of the existence of the Federation, and if a new stellar power develops warp drive and is contacted by a huge alliance of worlds they may feel pressured to join, but that's not the goal of Starfleet's exploration. And while the Federation does mine worlds within its borders, those are always uninhabited worlds without life. It's unfair to say based on humanity's failings that Starfleet is colonialist, when Starfleet officers are usually (though not always) presented as ideal figures, paragons of morality that we should strive to emulate. 9)While Federation member states allow Federation government to manage affairs on a large scale with non-Federation powers, Federation members are allowed to have their own trade deals and their own diplomatic communication with other worlds, they have complete control over internal affairs except for that they have to ensure the fundamental rights of their citizens, and are free to leave the Federation at any time for any reason. 10)Complete freedom of religion is given to Federation citizens, the one caveat being that your religious practises can't put others in danger or cause harm to others without their consent. 11)Again, *past* exploration. Humanity has grown beyond its current nature of a, to quote Q, "Savage child race," and so now Starfleet does not do those things. 12)Again, Starfleet officers are not Columbus. I cannot stress this enough. The Federation really does explore just for the fun of it and the scientific gain! 13)"Primal and selfish human needs" which we have grown beyond by the time Star Trek is set. 14)The Federation is NOT the same as Starfleet! Stop conflating them! 15)The Federation puts nothing higher than the self-determination of its citizens, to the extent that a couple with a young child were allowed to take a spare Starfleet transport Starfleet had lying around and go on a long-term scientific mission to hunt down the Borg, which ultimately ended with their abduction and assimilation. Because they wanted to. Freedom of speech, movement and expression are fundamental rights in the Federation. 16)The Federation has no "dictator". 17)AGAIN, THE FEDERATION IS NOT THE SAME AS STARFLEET! To the extent that member states of the Federation have their own militaries separate from Starfleet. 18)There are many civilian vessels we see in Star Trek. Examples of non-Starfleet Federation ships include (note that this is an extremely incomplete list; this isn't all the non-Starfleet Federation ships we see in Star Trek, it's a tiny snapshot of them): -The SS Raven -La Sirena (though admittedly that was in Picard, which wasn't out when you made this) -The entire Merchant Marine -The entire Merchant Service -The SS Columbia -The SS Dierdre -The DEV Eagle Valley -The Festoon (again, Star Trek Discovery so seen after this video was released) -The SS Hatteras -The Havana -The Horizon -The ECS Horizon (two different ships) -The Kirsearge -The SS Koglin -The SS Lakul -The LaSalle -The SS Manila -The SS Manoa -The Milan -The SS Molokai -The Norkova -The Odin -The Raging Queen -The SS Robert Fox -The SS Santa Maria -The Stella -The SS Vico -The Woden -The SS Wisconsin -The SS Xhosa While it's true that most Federation ships are built by official Federation shipyards, many are privately owned. 19)There are non-hostile aliens that aren't part of the Federation either. Take the Bajorans or the Ferengi from DS9, for example. 20)NO THE FEDERATION IS NOT STARFLEET STOP IT PLEASE I BEG OF YOU! 21)You show a Starfleet communicator and cite it as proof that there are no non-Starfleet communicators. The person hlding the communicator is a Starfleet Officer, for god's sake! Of course he's going to have a Starfleet communicator! By your logic, the fact that American soldiers wear uniforms means that the US forces its citizens to wear uniforms! That's not true! 22)That's not the Federation's insignia. That's the Starfleet insignia. 23)Well, of course the Enterprise-D can track its own crew - it's a military ship, for god's sake! Don't you think if the US Navy could do that as cheaply and reliably as Starfleet can they would? 24)The fact that the Federation News Network is called that doesn't mean it's Federation run. Is the BBC, the British Broadcasting Corporation, run by the British government? No! It gets funding from it, but it has total freedom over what it reports. Also, I don't know where you're getting Federation News Network from - that wasn't canonised until years after you made the video! (Continued in replies)

matpat: "something darker hidden underneath the surface of every star trek series or film ive ever watched" there's something darker hidden underneath the surface of every series or film he's ever watched :D

It would certainly make sense that the federation would appear fascist if you confuse the federation with the federation's military.

"I could've had facial hair" Looking at you now, you do. Mission accomplished.

This is the least accurate video I have ever seen. Starfleet and the federation are not the same thing. Starfleet is the federation’s navy, but there are lots of non-starfleet federation ships which are owned by citizens.

they were actually cashews not pecans.

RE “The only non-Federation ships that we see throughout the series are those that belong to enemy alien species” This claim could only be made by someone unfamiliar w/Star Trek (& didn’t google it), as it is wrong in every detail. Privately owned commercial ships for trading, colonization, and other purposes appear throughout, from Cyrano Jones’s Trouble with Tribbles trader to The Outrageous Okona’s freighter in TNG. The Maki border militia operate their own outlaw fleet in Federation space. Also, plenty of non-enemy alien ships are shown, from allied Vulcan and Andorian ships to non-aligned First Federation and Yonada craft. Not to mention those aliens so powerful they can achieve interstellar flight without ships - the Organians, the Metrons, the godlike denizens of Pollox 4, et cetera..

Because I needed more Star Trek story ideas. Thanks.

With the new additions of Discovery and Picard, I’d love to see him redo this in the prime timeline instead of mixing it up with the Kelvin timeline

The ENTIRE Theory Falls Apart with the existence of Deep Space 9 and everything that comes with it foo

"But hey that's just a theory" I would barely call it a hypothesis.

Me: *shows my brother a funny video about Star Trek tos* Him: *tells me about this video* Me: *in tears* why do you hate me brother

Reminds me of a scene where Riker was on a non federation planet, when he was told they didn't accept his fed credits as payment he got aggressive and threatened them

You seem to be conflating "Starfleet" with "the Federation." The United Federation of Planets is a massive collective agreement between individual planets who still maintain autonomy, but have access to the resources and protection of the Federation. Planets that join the Federation (always willingly) do so with the goal of cooperating toward the common good. Now, you can call that "Fascism," because these days apparently anything that isn't solely about looking out for yourself with no regard for others is "Fascism", but a lot of your points don't add up. The Federation is like a galactic United Nations, or perhaps a United States if each state retained a certain amount of autonomy from the rest. Starfleet is basically the Navy and NASA combined. It's a military organization, albeit one whose primary mission is exploration rather than war. Our characters are Starfleet officers. They have chosen a military career, and thus are subject to military rules and regulations. To assume that the standards to which Starfleet officers are held extend to private citizens is absurd. You can't court-martial a private citizen. Citizens are subject to certain rules, like "don't murder", but those are just, y'know, laws. Repeatedly throughout this video, MatPat, you refer to the Starfleet emblem as the Federation emblem, which indicates that you don't understand the difference. Starfleet officers are held to Starfleet codes of conduct, and are issued Starfleet technology (Pike uses a Starfleet communicator because it's his "work phone", but private citizens can use whatever they want). Yes, when we look at ship names, the all start with USS because they are Starfleet vessels and we're watching a show about Starfleet in which Starfleet officers have access to Starfleet records. But private transportation companies absolutely exist in the Federation. Not everything is Starfleet. Assuming that every Federation citizen is a Starfleet officer just because that's the only job we tend to see in the show is like watching CSI and assuming that everyone in Las Vegas is a cop. I'm sure there are other news outlets on every single Federation planet as well, but the Enterprise crew probably doesn't give a shit what's trending on "Betazed Today" or "The Week on Rigel IV". There is no evidence of the Federation government micro-managing the daily lives of private citizens on their planets. In fact, dealing with the respective leaders of Federation planets and sometimes even arguing with Prime Ministers and colony leaders is the basis for a massive number of Star Trek episodes. Usually, the Enterprise will visit a Federation planet to help them out with a problem (like a natural disaster or disease outbreak), or assist in a scientific or industrial endeavour (mining, terraforming, archaeology, new technology), and while there, they take their cues from the planet in question. They don't tell the planet what to do, they ask what they need and then do what they can to help. When the mission is complete, they go on their merry way an leave the planet/colony/whatever to go about its business. The colony or planet is free to govern itself however it wants (as long as it follows basic Federation law, like "no human rights violations"- ie, the same laws we have now). Also, this must be mentioned: you completely ignored the most important tenet of Starfleet's mission of exploration: the Prime Directive. Yes, when you think of "exploration," you think of men like Columbus and Cortez, and the disastrous effects of their expeditions are exactly what the Prime Directive is meant to prevent. The Federation has made it Starfleet's #1 rule to NOT influence, indoctrinate, or otherwise interfere with another world's natural development. Once a planet has achieved space travel, they have the option to join the Federation (after meeting certain requirements, like maintaining peace and not having slavery and stuff), but until then, they are to be left alone. We can study them from afar (or from up close, if enough precautions are taken to not be noticed), like a nature documentary where if you see something awful happen, like a lion tearing into a gazelle or a baby turtle getting stuck on a beach, you have to stay back and let nature take its course. Now, of course you can argue that Star Trek characters violate the Prime Directive on several occasions, mostly when their conscience just wouldn't let them stand by and watch. And you can argue whether or not they made the right decision in each instance- in fact, many of the best Star Trek episodes are entirely about this argument. It's kinda the crux of the show. Star Trek has always been about debating the moral implications of its characters' actions, and usually there are no easy answers. I'm a big fan (duh), but there are times when I disagree with a decision that Kirk, or even Picard, makes. But that's okay- there's room to disagree, there's room for differing viewpoints, and in the world of Star Trek, there aren't good guys and bad guys, just people trying to make the best decisions they can. But I digress: yes, you can point out that even though the Prime Directive exists, it usually only comes up when someone is thinking of violating it. But that's the point- it's the *exception* to the rule to break this rule, and neither Starfleet nor the Federation tolerate doing so. It's never been entirely clear to what degree if any the Prime Directive applies to private citizens (I think none), but a Starfleet officer who breaks this rule is subject to court-martial, and will probably lose their commission. Compare the Federation to the Borg. Now there is the ultimate Fascist state. No individuality, no freedom, encountering other cultures exclusively to assimilate them. The Federation values diversity, and you can question this tenet- in fact, it is questioned more than once in the shows- and that's fine. It's welcomed. Hell, how many times have we seen Starfleet captains question the very supposed values they are sworn to uphold, or ask how their society can be improved? Captains routinely enter such quandaries into their logs, which are sent directly to Starfleet HQ via subspace. And no Thought Police have ever shown up. How many Admirals has Captain Picard yelled at because he didn't agree with their orders? And yet he's never been demoted. How many military organizations can you think of that are so forgiving of an officer directly questioning a superior with little to no consequences? Yet Starfleet principles make it very clear that officers are expected to think for themselves. "The first duty of every Starfleet officer is to the truth, whether it's scientific truth, or historical truth, or personal truth." This is not the philosophy of an organization out to brainwash its members. I also feel the need to point out that we do often get glimpses of outside, non-Federation perspectives on the show. I agree it's rare, but then, it's actually kind of not. Most encounters with "bad guys" ensure that the motivations of said bad guy are clear and understandable, and if we were on the other side of the viewscreen we'd probably support their actions. Non-Fedaration characters have called Starfleet or the Federation out on its hypocrisy more than once, encouraging the characters, and the viewers, to do the same. Yet it is this questioning that hopefully leads to a richer understanding of the world in which these characters exist- a world that isn't perfect, but always tries to improve. We've seen numerous occasions in which a Starfleet officer must cooperate with a Romulan only to discover that while they may come from different cultures, they are both doing what they think is right. Sometimes you can see and understand why the Romulans are suspicious of the Federation, or why some Klingons think that allying with them makes the Empire weak. Star Trek lore is filled with sympathy for opposing points of view. Yes, we see things from the perspective of Starfleet because it's a show about Starfleet, but that perspective is anything but narrow. I usually like your videos, MatPat. I find them well-researched and often quite convincing. But Star Trek is clearly not your strong suit. You made a case out of minor, circumstantial, cherry-picked details, but ignored the entire underlying philosophy and lore of the franchise. I know you were "questioning" that philosophy, and that's a good thing- as a Star Trek fan who knows it well, I really enjoy hearing new perspectives on my favourite show that allows me to view it in a new light. If Star Trek has taught me anything, it's to keep an open mind and challenge my own preconceptions. I clicked on this video because I hoped you'd make a really interesting case. But from your faulty premise (not knowing the difference between Starfleet and the Federation), to leaving out any mention of the Prime Directive (which obliterates your argument that the Federation is interested in indoctrination or conquest), to your insistence that we never see situations from the perspective of non-Federation citizens (that perspective may not be the focus, but it is almost always present), I think we're going to have to call this theory... debunked.

A B C E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z. Notice anything? The D is out for Harambe

Disclaimer: Matpat is talking about the mirror universe

Yes, make sure the crew on your starship are free to do whatever they want and aren’t monitored at all! What could possibly go wrong with THAT!?

"You should always question the motives of the person telling the facts." Wait, you're telling us facts... MATPAT WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME!?

I'm certain this has been pointed out by others (as there are over 14,000 comments listed, already) but I'll chime in, just the same. The Federation cannot be considered a fascist society, by even the broadest definition of the term. There were several episodes, in both the original series, as well as _TNG,_ wherein it was clearly said, by both Capt. Kirk and Capt. Picard, that a pre-contact civilization's decision to join the Federation was that society's choice to make, and nobody else. That, more than anything else, militates against the argument made in the video which states that the Federation is a hyper-expansionist empire that dominates it's member worlds, and forces less advanced civilizations to join...or die. The point made in the video, that of a hybrid democratic/socialist, post-scarcity utopia in fact being nothing more than a totalitarian regime in disguise, is clearly flawed.

I came back to this video after watching the new Star Trek theory and….the intro theme. I was taken aback I completely forgot about it

Wow it took 2 years for me to finally be able to watch this i first sae this video existed when i was in like season 5 of DS9 ive watched voyager, enetrprise, the original show and all th movies in that time intresting video

Wow, you got a lot wrong here. I'm not even a Trekkie and I know every world in the federation has it's own government. The Federation handles foreign policy and defense. That's why it's called The Federation because its a federation. Earth is the only world established in the shows to not have money. On earth you are given energy credits on the day you're born. Many times more then you need to live and you are free to do with them what you want. You are confusing the legal systems of Starfleet a military body, The Federation a UN like body, and the world governments which are much more like a western government like we have today. There are also many examples of non Starfleet ships in the Federation. Most worlds in The Federation are shown to have their own ships and all earth colony ships are made and or paid for by private citizens. Also if people have to go rouge to do bad things doesn't that show in someway the Federation is good. Voluntarily sacrificing oneself for an other is noble (Spock) and forcing people to sacrifice themselves isn't noble (Hitler). Do you see the difference? So are the people in Starfleet voluntarily joining the sticks or are they being forced to join the sticks. I think you even know that Starfleet is 100% voluntary and for that matter so is the Federation.

Starfleet doesn't control all transportation and communication. Because the shows and movies are ABOUT Starfleet ships and crews, Starfleet transportation and communication are all that we see.

Honestly, when you have the capability to literally replicate matter, have created an open government that allows outsiders to fully join, and does not openly attack those that refuse to join… pretty good either way.

*When you realize that the US space force logo looks almost identical to Star fleet*

The federation aren't fascists they are humanists that was the whole point

What about ALL the episodes where they purposefully stay out of things just for the sake of preventing a planet from being affected...

There are numerous episodes in star trek: Enterprise and some in Next Generation that feature cruisers owned privately.(5:30)

Yup. Even though the motto belongs to only one Ship, the goal of the Federation is clear. An ever expanding empire and an impossible Utopia. Remember Cisco poisoning a planet's atmosphere to catch a renegade? If born in that setting I would join the Maquis the moment I could walk.

Talking about eliminating capitalism. Brings up Hitler instead of Lenin or Stalin. Srsly, MatPat?

Storm trooper vs red jacket. Storm trooper misses. Red jacket dies anyway

Even other TV shows recognize this point. In the episode titled "The one where were trapped on TV" of DC's legends of tomorrow 2 characters get trapped in a star trek parody show where the motto is "To find disobedient life forms, and blow them up with lasers"

4:14 You can’t hide from me Fabian Seacaster! (Listen to the music)

Wait a second MatPat. I've watched the entirety of the Star Trek series, movies and all. And a lot of this is just total bull. Firstly Starfleet =/= The Federation. The Federation is a system of Planets joined together not unlike the UN. Starfleet is an Organization of Pilots and Crew members to do go exploring. Starfleets rules are not the Federations. Kirk is tried by Starfleet, not the government in which Starfleet lives. Secondly, as for Transportation would you care to explain Klingon warships and battlecruisers? Or the Mining ship Nero uses in 2009 Star Trek. How about the many other non-Federation planets ships we see in the Series? Including the rest of the Romulan fleet. And Communication? The Communicators are Starfleet issued, not Federation. Each Federation planet has their own equivalent to Starfleet, and thus have their own methods of communication. Also, you say you've watched all things Star Trek then how could you forget about THE PRIME FREAKING DIRECTIVE. To quote "Prohibit Starfleet personnel from interfering with the internal development of alien civilizations." GOES ENTIRELY AGAINST THE THEORY YOU HAVE PRESENTED. As for money, credits are used within Federation planets as their form of currency. The aliens homeworld currency is used in the event they aren't a Federation planet.

You encouraged me to look at a Star Trek stellar map. If you look at one, you'll see that there are tons of non-aligned systems within Federation borders. For example, Razna V, Krios Prime, Gallos II, Mazar, Kohlan, B'Saari II, Dekendi II, Eska, Troyius, Malcor III, and Arkon all lie near the center of federation space near the home systems of the four founding races.

Mat pat Star trek is actually told from the star fleet prospective not the federation's (Watch star trek picard for a look a federation civilian life) and the Xoza from DS9 is not federation built and that star is the star fleet symbol not the federation's.

If you remember, in the Star wars cannon, they was 2 great wars and a purge, because of the last war that leaved many sick people from nuclear and genetic alteration. And all this, before the federation was created after they meet with the vulcan. So yeah, what you said in this video is really plausible.

Man, This Comment Section blew up worse than Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. I'm a Quarter, I'm Heartless.

Those aren't pecans, those are cashews

The Federation outwardly: Boldly go where no man has gone before! The Federation behind closed doors: Would you like to know more?

I thought the title said faceist like if someone had a good face they were respected more and I was so confused lol

"History is written by the victors"

MAT, YOU RAISED A BETTER QUESTION THAN THE ONE YOU ANSWERED! What happens if you expose Pecans to heavy doses of Radiation?

I'd been on to this theory since the last time I'd re-read Heinlein's "Between Planets" (around the mid Nineties) wherein he casts the UN, or whomever they had morphed into by then, as the antagonists of the book. I thought that the story could readily be adapted into Federation Space, albeit adjusting for updated astronomical knowledge, and recast onto a different star system's version of "Venus." If you haven't read it you're in for a treat. If it's been a while... Yeah. It has! Let's see....

Surprised that the TNG episode "Measure of a Man" wasn't brought up. Starfleet LITERALLY tried to declare Lt. Commander Data PROPERTY & that he didn't count as sentient because he was an android!

3:47: That's Greek armor, a legionare would never use a shield like that.

The hardest evidence against the Federation being fascist are the Mirror Universe stories. Those are pure fascism. And they are brilliant as a counterpoint for the characters.

10:08 - Full quote: “Doctor, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or, the one.”.

Best movie line ever. “I NEED MY PAIN!!!!”

RIP Game and Film Theory, both have gone down the shitter now that MatPat sold out.

Original idea is good but your arguments are not so much. Federation is not a government, it is a union. You don't have to join it, and even if you do, they respect your traditions and society. Even if your traditions are fucked up. They don't control transportation, communication or economy. There are many other spaceships (custom made or made by non-federation races) you can use. Even if there wasn't, that doesn't mean they "control" it. Everything is produced by same people and factories, simply because there isn't a private sector to profit. This is also the reason why there is federation logo on so many things. They don't keep track of where is every single person at any time. This is only a feature of federation starships. They can also scan for specific people on surface if only there is a valid reason. And they only know where they are, there are no cameras or any kind of recorders although there are many cases that can be easily solved if some kind of record existed. Privacy is a very serious matter in federation. Economy as we know is not exist, there isn't anything to control in federation's internals. Federation members can still trade with non-federation people who are still using currency. Like Ferengi. There isn't any kind of limitation to that, as you can see in DS9. And "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" logic generally suggested by "the few", so I think they are going for sacrifice theme there, not fascism :) I think Section 31 is the most valid angle to this subject. It is nearly as old as federation, but it still exists. Clearly, there are some high ranking people in federation looking the other way. I got a little carried away but that's what happens when you put 500+ hours to something (as you know) :(

At 8:30, that's actually Charlie Chaplin from his parody film, "The Great Dictator."

Ds9 actually did a great job showing another side of the star trek universe and the innerworkings of the politics.

Video comments 99.99% people criticizing 00.01% this

He's mentioning Starfleet, not Federation. And Starfleet is technically military. And most of this is shown without context

"You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means."

Minute 02:40...what is that hard-core devious sounding song?

1:20 You seem to forget the Clone Wars and Rebels TV series.

pecans? are you serious? those are cashews. what is this blasphemy? >:(

I’ve seen a lot of people contesting your theory based on discrepancies with the actuality of the series, though I feel it’s necessary to point out that Fascism is economically variable, culturally far right, and authoritarian. The fact that the federation does away with currency does not contribute to its being fascist, and we do not see any instances of xenophobia throughout the government of the Federation, so it cannot be Fascist. Great video otherwise, even if you used an incorrect definition of Fascism.

3:17 - The third line originally said, “Its five year mission.”, and, the final line originally stated, “...where no man has gone before...”.

Come on, dr who part 3 is definitely more important than this

MatPat make Dr Who part 3 or I will get CatPat

"how about the justice and criminal court systems, again its under the thumb of the federation" is matpat suggesting we have private courts?

Section 31 isn’t apart of Starfleet. They’re actually separate group that is imbedded in aspects of Starfleet. Majority of Starfleet has no idea what Section 31 is.

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" = Fascism According to matpat? I thought this was a joke like the Red Mario vid

Heh, the Star Trek fans are really destroying this theory. Makes you wonder if MatPat has actually watched all of the things he claims to have watched.

There are many episodes over many Star Trek series that give us examples of what civilian use as ships with in the Federation. (DS9 for example had a love interest for Sisco that was a freighter captain). But on the other hand, the few times we are able to glimpse at civilian life for humans in the Federation, it was always very grim. Regardless if it was in TOS or in the "Picard" series. Though, I guess the Kepler universe had the best standard of living for it's citizens? Regardless, Matt Pat really push some buttons with this video!

The way the federation handled the Maquis I think is evidence enough