Comment

Define "post-scarcity". You can't replicate everything (without programmable matter, anyways...), and some raw materials are needed to build the replicators. And latinum is a rare commodity, though I don't know why it's so value beyond its scarcity. Greed will always be there as long as some things remain scarce yet required for a functioning society.

source

Sort:hotnew top

c10l@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Latinum is only valuable outside of the Federation, where societies are not post-scarcity.

Now, before you argue that there are no material conditions demanding scarcity in (some of) them, I’ll add that artificial scarcity is scarcity nonetheless.

source
- Bonehead@kbin.social ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  In societies outside the Federation, where they don't have replicators, things have value due to being able to use them for other purposes. Latinum has never been shown to be used for any other purpose except to trade. Its not clear why a useless material is considered valuable, except for the fact that its rare.
  
  source
  - marcos@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Says a huh-man that uses paper to trade…
    
    source
    Bonehead@kbin.social ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    That paper is at least backed by the GDP of my country.
    
    source
    -> View More Comments
teft@startrek.website ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Latinum is valuable because it can’t be replicated.

source
- Bonehead@kbin.social ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Yes, but beyond its scarcity, what other purpose does it have? Lots of things are rare and can't be replicated, but their value comes from the need to use them for some purpose such the ability to build other things that you wouldn't be able to build otherwise. Latinum has never been shown as anything more than a currency with nothing behind it to give it value.
  
  source
  - teft@startrek.website ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    What value does gold have other than it doesn’t rust and it looks pretty?
    
    It’s the same thing essentially. Latinum looks pretty and can’t be replicated therefore it’s a good currency.
    
    source
    Bonehead@kbin.social ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Gold is used in a variety of applications. You're likely holding a device filled with gold right now. Even before the computer revolution, is was still used in medical applications. There are tons of uses for gold that don't involve currency.
    
    source
    -> View More Comments
    lolcatnip@reddthat.com ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    You missed a big advantage of gold: it’s so dense you can verify that a piece of gold is real just by weighing it, because very few materials are even close to the density of gold. For most of human history, it was impossible to substitute another material for gold, and even now, the materials that are denser than gold are radioactive and/or more expensive than gold.
    
    source