99: Workers of All Worlds Unite

Primitive Culture: A Star Trek History and Culture Podcast

A Marxist analysis of “Bar Association,” with Will Nguyen.

From lowly dogsbody to Grand Nagus of the Ferengi Alliance, Quark’s brother Rom went on quite a journey during Deep Space Nine’s seven seasons. Perhaps the most pivotal moment for the character came in the episode “Bar Association,” in which Rom outrages Ferengi custom by setting up a union for the bar staff.

In this episode of Primitive Culture, host Duncan Barrett is joined by Will Nguyen, better known online as The Trekkie Communist, to take a look at this key episode from a Marxist perspective. How does the utopian Starfleet coexist with Ferengi capitalism? Is the Federation really as classless as it seems? And what changes might it take in the real world for us to approach a Star Trek future?

Chapters Intro (00:00:00) A Union Man (00:03:55) Starfleet Soviets (00:18:40) The Rommunist Manifesto (00:37:50) Blood Feudalism (00:50:45) Getting from Here to There (01:08:20)

Host Duncan Barrett Guest Will Nguyen Production Tony Black (Editor) Duncan Barrett (Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Tony Black (Associate Producer) Clara Cook (Associate Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer)