Indeed, outcomes may vary. I remember growing up in West Berlin in the 1980s, surrounded by the GDR - a highly centralized and hierarchical society with diminished economic inequality. We frequently got time off school because the smog was so bad.

I'm very skeptical if a human society is possible which does not lead to over-exploitation of resources and recklessness towards discovered species on alien planets. I also doubt that the technology required for space travel could be developed in a sustainable manner in the first place.

I wouldn't rule out the possibility of a Star Trek type society which was somehow able find a solution for this problem, but I fear it's highly unlikely. Ultimately, we're selfish apes. That's why I find the Star Trek premise unrealistic.