@CaptObvious @commander_la_freak
Yes, TNG started before the breakup of the USSR, so criticism of capitalism was a pretty radical thing to put in primetime in America in the late cold war. The Ferengi were explicitly analogized with "Yankee traders" to make it clear that they were basically "Evil Space America" as a twisted mirror alternative to the Federation's "Good Space America" with only the nice parts.
@ValueSubtracted I definitely agree it was... fine. Which is a shame because there were some great bits and pieces for what felt like it could have been a great episode.
Unfortunately it was quite hampered by Disco's unfortunate habits. There were some real choices made to not let any of the positive elements shine.