The utopian paradise has a basis in material conditions and humanity is not entirely above losing their idealism with the erosion of those conditions
When suddenly met with an enemy that seems overwhelming, the intelligence organizations of established powers have no qualms about multiple attempts to commit genocide against them; official governments (supposed good guys) disavow this but then actively frustrate an attempt to stop the genocide when a cure for the engineered disease is found
When suddenly met with an enemy that seems overwhelming
Uh, what? The Federation were losing quite badly, and the show already established countless times before that just how brutal and authoritarian the Dominion were, so the Federation was pretty much fighting for their survival. They were only able to start turning it around when the magic wormhole aliens intervened (which the federation scoffs at the idea of them existing so...) in the retaking of DS9 when Ben Sisko decided to attempt to solo an entire dominion fleet with the USS Ben Sisko's Motherfuckin Pimp Hand Defiant.
the intelligence organizations of established powers have no qualms about multiple attempts to commit genocide against them
Which if you payed attention to the show at all, all the genocide attempts happened long before the wormhole aliens (pretty much the only reason the Dominion got put on the track towards losing the war) decided to get off their ass and do something.
edit: not condoning it, it's just the options available at the point where s31 enacted the plan that poisoned the changlings (which only worked because Odo who was unknowingly carrying the poison went to the changling homeworld) weren't all that great, and the Dominion was sure as hell going to apply some guilt by association if they won.
Section 31 created the virus and infected Odo during mid season 4. There was also the earlier Tal Shiar/Obsidian Order strike against the Founder homeworld plus Garak's trying to use the weapons on the Defiant to repeat that attempt.
Both were not just before the wormhole aliens intervened in the war with the Dominion, but before any open war had even started. It was attempted genocide as a pre-emptive strike, as a reaction to the mere existence of a stronger power.
The official Federation decision to withhold the cure on the other hand came well after the prophets' intervention, and shortly before they won the conventional war.
I recall that the first encounter with the Dominion was very hostile on the part of the Dominion, including one of their ships suicide ramming a galaxy class. There's also the planet with the quickening virus.
edit: I'll try to write more about the Dominion, and about how unavoidable that war was when I get off work here and back home.
edit2: Alright so ever since the very first actual encounter with the dominion, and not one of the member races. They've been very hostile, which stems into how the founders think. They think in terms of self preservation, and bringing 'order' to a chaotic universe, by any means. Up to and including straight up eliminating anyone that doesn't conform to their will. And by the time Odo got poisoned, the dominion/founders were already doing a lot of stuff to sabotage the alpha quadrant powers.
And I should also point out that even if the Federation steered clear of the Dominion, the war was going to happen. All because Gul Dukat went and pretty much invited them to the alpha quadrant, and well because of how the founders saw the universe. What would honestly be the most realistic option any nation would do given that situation, against a force that literally sees them as something to be dominated or eliminated to bring their brand of order to the galaxy?
DS9:
Uh, what? The Federation were losing quite badly, and the show already established countless times before that just how brutal and authoritarian the Dominion were, so the Federation was pretty much fighting for their survival. They were only able to start turning it around when the magic wormhole aliens intervened (which the federation scoffs at the idea of them existing so...) in the retaking of DS9 when Ben Sisko decided to attempt to solo an entire dominion fleet with the USS
Ben Sisko's Motherfuckin Pimp HandDefiant.Which if you payed attention to the show at all, all the genocide attempts happened long before the wormhole aliens (pretty much the only reason the Dominion got put on the track towards losing the war) decided to get off their ass and do something.
edit: not condoning it, it's just the options available at the point where s31 enacted the plan that poisoned the changlings (which only worked because Odo who was unknowingly carrying the poison went to the changling homeworld) weren't all that great, and the Dominion was sure as hell going to apply some guilt by association if they won.
Also this is a post Wolf-359 federation, so...
Section 31 created the virus and infected Odo during mid season 4. There was also the earlier Tal Shiar/Obsidian Order strike against the Founder homeworld plus Garak's trying to use the weapons on the Defiant to repeat that attempt.
Both were not just before the wormhole aliens intervened in the war with the Dominion, but before any open war had even started. It was attempted genocide as a pre-emptive strike, as a reaction to the mere existence of a stronger power.
The official Federation decision to withhold the cure on the other hand came well after the prophets' intervention, and shortly before they won the conventional war.
I recall that the first encounter with the Dominion was very hostile on the part of the Dominion, including one of their ships suicide ramming a galaxy class. There's also the planet with the quickening virus.
edit: I'll try to write more about the Dominion, and about how unavoidable that war was when I get off work here and back home.
edit2: Alright so ever since the very first actual encounter with the dominion, and not one of the member races. They've been very hostile, which stems into how the founders think. They think in terms of self preservation, and bringing 'order' to a chaotic universe, by any means. Up to and including straight up eliminating anyone that doesn't conform to their will. And by the time Odo got poisoned, the dominion/founders were already doing a lot of stuff to sabotage the alpha quadrant powers.
And I should also point out that even if the Federation steered clear of the Dominion, the war was going to happen. All because Gul Dukat went and pretty much invited them to the alpha quadrant, and well because of how the founders saw the universe. What would honestly be the most realistic option any nation would do given that situation, against a force that literally sees them as something to be dominated or eliminated to bring their brand of order to the galaxy?