Once again, it’s time to revisit the 6 things something can teach you about money. For this adventure I’m returning to Star Trek, only this time focusing on a specific species known as the Ferengi (fur-rang-e). Those familiar with Star Trek need to know nothing else. You losers that don’t know Star Trek well will need further exaplanation.
The Ferengi are an alien species in the Star Trek universe. They are focused on one thing, profit. They want to make money in any way they can, and greed is hghly encouraged in their culture. On top of being ugly (see picture) they are also coniving, and also very business savvy. They are one of the more interesting races to get regular exposure in any of the Star Trek series. They shed an interesting light on a ficticious universe in the future that has largely eliminated greed, poverty, and money. But the Ferengi have much to teach us about money, I’ve selected the 6 that are at least, the most entertaining.
Gold is worthless: So this is more of an opinion than a fact. I firmly beleive that gold is worth very little. It’s value is only determined by what people are willing to pay for it. This is determined bye fears of currency fallout or inflation. It’s no more valuable to me than a dollar, as it’s not rare, and has very little industrial value. The Ferengi agree with me. They actually treat it like paper. They value a fictional element called “latinum”. This element is only seen in liquid form. To make it easily exchangable, they actually put small portions of latinum in gold bars. The gold is no more valuable than the paper we print money on, but they latinum is valued the same way we value an acutal dollar.
Savings: Saving money is very important to the Ferengi. They don’t have a class system, it’s only separated by wealth. So someone born poor could easily rise to the top of the Ferengi culture simply by acquiring wealth. The Ferengi are encouraged to save and invest. Large purchases are usually only made with the idea they will be able to sell it for more later. Translation: buying a home vs a Ferrari.
War is not the answer: The Ferengi are hardly a trustworthy people. They actually beleive that war can be good for business. But they don’t want anyone dying, as they’d lose customers. They want to sell arms to both sides of a fight, profiting off an arms race and not a war. When there is a dispute among the Ferengi, they sort it out by means of negotiation and use of financial power. It’s better to keep your competitor from making money than to try to destroy them outrght.
Don’t overpay for things: I negotiated the price on my car, and the rings my wife and I wear. I could have payed sticker, or even payed the price first negotiated. But I followed the beleif that I shouldn’t pay more than I have to for things. If there are shortcuts to save money, take them. Why spend more for something if you can spend less. What the Ferengi don’t talk about here is time. Even though they value time almost as much as money, sometimes it’s not worth the effort to save money. I feel this way with most coupons. So to each his own. I think the Ferengi here are mostly saying don’t let someone gouge you.
The riskier the road, the greater the profit: As I said before, the Ferengi love profit. But sometimes they turn a blind eye to risk in order to get they handsome return on investment. We’ve learned in the aftermath of the financial crisis that risk exists for a reason. And while returns can be good when you take risks, the losses are just as bad. The Ferengi teach us that we can make a lot by taking a lot of risk, we could probably teach (and show) that the opposite is true too. Best to know your own tolerance for risk, and if you don’t know how risky an investment is, then it’s too risky for you.
Caveat emptor: AKA: buyer beware. The Ferengi will gladly sell you faulty goods if you’re willing to pay for it. They aren’t big on refunds and very little exists in their culture to protect the consumer. This darwinian atitude would work very well if everyone in the society thought that way. Though in our 21st century (the Star Trek universe mostly deals in the 24th century) we have enough dumb consumers to warrant protections. Still, it’s best to be an informed buyer at all costs, to avoid unwanted costs.
The Ferengi have much to teach us about money, but that doesn’t mean they’re a wonderful species. Much of what I reference is a part of their “Rules of Acquisition” which is a code of conduct in business and life. These rules also include these gems:
- Never allow family to stand in the way of opportunity.
- Treat people in your debt like family … exploit them.
- Employees are the rungs on the ladder of success. Don’t hesitate to step on them.
But still, the Ferengi are smart, and can be quite insightful. We can learn much from them, and they do beleive themselves to be a superior race. Consider this conversation between a Ferengi (Quark, pictured above) and a human (Commander Sisko):
Quark: I think I figured out why humans don’t like Ferengi—
Sisko: Not now, Quark.
Quark: The way I see it, humans used to be a lot like Ferengi: greedy, acquisitive, interested only in profit. We’re a constant reminder of a part of your past you’d like to forget.
Sisko: Quark, we don’t have time for this.
Quark: You’re overlooking something, Commander. Humans used to be a lot worse than Ferengi. Slavery, concentration camps, interstellar war; we have nothing in our past that approaches that kind of barbarism. You see? We’re nothing like you. We’re better.
 By The Weakonomist |
The Weakonomist is the founder of Weakonomics. Clicking the picture of the puppy will tell you more about him. If you like what you're reading consider subscribing to the blog, following him on Twitter, and checking out the related posts below. Please consider a donation if you really enjoy Weakonomics. Also keep in mind that nothing I say can be construed as financial advice. |
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