The extent to which a nation must trade will compromise its self-determination and in some cases even undermine its sovereignty entirely. It is common for young, emerging races such as your own to fall under the domination of foreign powers as a result of
becoming dependent upon certain forms of foreign technology. In some cases, this domination is outright and complete. Yet often this domination is exercised in such a way that the native peoples of a world will continue to think they are self-determined and sovereign
when, in fact, their race has become entirely dependent on foreign powers for the essential things that they have come to rely upon.
Within free nations in the universe, and particularly in large inhabited areas such as the region in which your world exists, great effort is made to sustain selfsufficiency or to participate with one or two other free nations to create a network of support. Here trade
is carried on within this network almost exclusively. This is done to preserve a free nation’s self-determination and sovereignty and to limit access to other powers who would seek to gain trade and influence within that nation.
Privacy is very important in the Greater Community, and the degree to which one must trade will determine how much privacy one can enjoy and expect. If you have great wealth, either by living in a world with great biological diversity or by possessing resources that
are desired or needed by others, then it becomes extremely difficult to maintain privacy and to limit the influences which will be exerted upon you continuously by other nations.
In the region of space where your world exists, conquest is not allowed. It is strictly forbidden, and this rule is maintained in order to assure order and stability within this neighbourhood of life. If one race seeks to gain advantage in another inhabited world, it must do
so in such a way that it appears that its presence is welcome in that world and that a mutual agreement has been established.
This is very important to understand in your world, where intervening forces are already here attempting to establish influence.
Should it appear to outside observers that their presence is at least tolerated, if not welcomed, then there will be no effort on the part of other nations to restrain their presence here. But should humanity exercise its authority and proclaim that it does not seek intervention
and does not welcome those races who are present in the world today, then those forces must withdraw or face considerable difficulties from their competitors and from other nations in the region. Conquest leads to instability and insecurity. It demonstrates aggression,
and aggression in an established region such as this is not tolerated at all.
Within the realm of trade and commerce, there is the established legal trade dealing with resources, technology or information that participating nations are known to have. If this trade is carried on in areas where there is a small network of participating nations,
then what they establish to be legal or beneficial is up to them. Yet in large trade routes where many nations—even hundreds of nations—trade, the rules are established as to what is appropriate and what is not.
However, in all cases, illegal trade is also carried on, and great effort is made to conceal this trade. Sometimes it is smuggled within established trade routes, and, as is often the case, secondary routes where no official protection or security are provided are used to
transport goods that are technically illegal within a certain region or district.
While stability and security are maintained as the basic focal point in this region of space, nations still seek advantage over one another. The desire for wealth is universal. This, of course, generates illegal trade regarding things that are deemed socially inappropriate
or that are considered hazardous to the security and stability of a region. Dangerous drugs, certain biological elements, slavery, slavery trade and things like this are generally included in the list of items that are considered illegal and inappropriate.
Free nations that are self-sufficient or that maintain their own trade networks can remain relatively anonymous as long as they do not demonstrate that they possess any unique wealth or advantage. They are thus free from many of the difficulties involved in illegal trade and in piracy, which occur even in established regions and
which are certainly a problem in outlying districts and in territories that remain uncharted. Trade and commerce are both a benefit and a hazard. They provide a nation with access to resources that its world or collection
of worlds does not possess. Yet they carry great hazards because wherever there is commerce, there is influence, and wherever there is influence, there is competition. Here one must gain great sophistication and establish very clear and sustained rules of engagement regarding commerce with other nations. And there must always be
great care that the risk of contamination is kept to a minimum or is avoided altogether.
from the book
"Life in the Universe" by Marshal Van Summers