THE PRIME DIRECTIVE

MAIN DISCUSSION

THE PRIME DIRECTIVE = THE PRIME SUGGESTION? (and the forty-seven sub-orders)

In general, how is the Prime Directive applied? Answer: Flexibly. Picard informs Crusher, in [TNG: Symbiosis], that the Prime Directive is not a set of rules but a philosophy, although the reason he gives for the wisdom of non-interference is that Mankind (no other species) messes up whenever it interferes with a less developed species, which gives rise to a possible debate on how far Mankind's evident past inability should affect other Federation members, and how far past experience should govern a doctrine.

Picard: "Beverly, the Prime Directive's not just a set of rules; it is a philosophy, and a very correct one. History's proved again and again that wherever Mankind interferes with a less developed civilisation, no matter how well intentioned that interference may be, the results are invariably disastrous." [TNG: Season 1: Symbiosis]

It is clear, and it is believed by our hero captains, that the letter of the Prime Directive cannot be always rigidly applied without inviting often justifiable accusations of moral cowardice or even of being complicit in genocide. The Prime Directive is a "cardinal protocol" (Janeway: [#104 Counterpoint]) that has to exist more in spirit and has to be interpreted. Moreover, it has to be interpreted in a flexible way, which does not necessarily mean in a compassionate way (Crusher's comment which follows the above dialogue quotation is: "It's hard to be philosophical when faced with suffering."). Interpretation often involves a highly personal approach, especially with the unpredictability of space exploration which has myriad opportunities for encountering other cultures at various levels of development. The personal approach relies heavily on the good character of the individual concerned, as the Prime Directive might be subjugated or re-interpreted to meet what a person (usually the captain) judges to be more pressing demands. Accordingly, some Trekkie wags dub the Prime Directive "the Prime Suggestion". However, none of the content of the forty-seven sub-orders of the Prime Directive is known (they are first mentioned in [Voyager] - Naomi Wildman says in [#101 Infinite Regress] that she knows all forty-seven sub-orders of the Prime Directive). It is speculation, but they are likely to cover the most common likely instances wherein those seeking to adhere to the Prime Directive might need authoritative guidance. Some attempt is likely to have been made to deal with dilemmas of one kind or another, with the number of sub-orders increasing (up to forty-seven as at the latest known update implicit in Naomi Wildman's statement in early 2375) one by one as new major circumstances arise. For instance, in [#30 Alliances] Janeway discusses with Tuvok the implications for the balance of power in that particular region of space if Voyager were to make an alliance with a Kazon sect. There may be no clear guidelines within the Prime Directive or its sub-orders to deal with the situation or else there are guidelines but they are perhaps too general for Voyager's specific situation. It seems reasonable to assume that some kind of guidelines have long since been set down to deal with the matter of the balance of power in a region, and particularly as regards aiding or not aiding one species against another in an arms race. In [TOS: A Private Little War] Captain Kirk of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701 arms the villagers who are Tyree's people in an attempt to restore the balance because their enemies and neighbours, the hill people, are being armed with weapons far ahead of the times (with flintlocks) by the Klingons; and in the later more regulated times of the larger-size Federation there would probably be guidelines at least, if not actual rules governing this kind of Prime Directive breach (it should be remembered that in Kirk's time the Prime Directive formulation was in its relative infancy and had not evolved to its all-encompassing nature as in [TNG] a century or so after Kirk's time). Guidelines and rules often come into existence to deal with a circumstance that has already finished occurred, as well as to attempt to deal with circumstances still occurring or which might occur in future. Essentially, for television viewers and fans discussing the Prime Directive, the forty-seven sub-orders represent convenient escape clauses, because their content is not known, and they could be said to act as guides or even rules to deal with many or most of the situations with which our hero captains have had to wrestle. As Star Trek gives no explanation at all about the content of any of the Prime Directive sub-orders, it is not known if they are mainly guidelines to aid interpretation or are actual orders - probably both, but possibly more in the nature of commands ("sub-orders" in the sense of both sub-categories and orders that have to be obeyed), this being the nature of a General Order. But as with the Prime Directive itself when read apart from the sub-orders (and that is all we, as television viewers, can do, as no one knows the content of the sub-orders), the sub-orders probably in some aspects are open to interpretation and rely for their implementation upon the good judgement of the relevant commanding officer. In that sense, they form as much a Prime Suggestion as the Prime Directive does.....but in a serious way.