"The strange phenomenon of our times—one which will probably astound our descendants—is the doctrine based on this triple hypothesis: the total inertness of mankind, the omnipotence of the law, and the infallibility of the legislator. These three ideas form the sacred symbol of those who proclaim themselves totally democratic."—Frédéric Bastiat, 1850.
Gene Roddenberry was an idealistic socialist who took the idea of benevolent progressive government as a given. One of the things I liked about DS9 was how it stripped away a lot of the idealism from Roddenberry after his death, and at least alluded to some of the problems the Federation presented.
Wow, @jacobtothe, thanks for that awesome Bastiat quote! It's funny, I didn't read Bastiat until after I learned about Natural Law. "The State" and "The Law" were great reads. His writing style, superb.