Editing Ferengi (section)

=== Culture ===
Ferengi culture is depicted, especially on ''Deep Space Nine'', as focused on the acquisition of profit as the highest goal. Many episodes portray this as taken to a comical extreme, as, for example, Ferengi prayer involves paying bribes to the gods, and Ferengi funeral rites involve auctioning off the deceased's remains. Ferengi characters frequently quote the "[[Rules of Acquisition]]", a collection of proverbs that are said to govern Ferengi business practices (such as "Never place friendship above profit"<ref>{{cite web |last=DeCandido |first=Keith R.A |url=https://www.tor.com/2013/08/02/star-trek-deep-space-nine-rewatch-rules-of-acquisition/ |title=''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' Rewatch: "Rules of Acquisition" |website=Tor.com |date=August 2, 2013 |access-date=March 2, 2021}}</ref>); a compilation of these Rules was published by ''Deep Space Nine'' showrunner [[Ira Steven Behr]]. Violations of economic norms such as abrogating contracts between fellow Ferengi or fraudulently taking advantage of business discounts are considered serious offences and subject to harsh punishments.

The extreme [[sexism]] of Ferengi society is shown in early seasons of ''Deep Space Nine'' where Ferengi females are not permitted to earn profit, travel, or even wear clothing.  A long-running plot thread on ''DS9'' features Ferengi society's gradual evolution away from these practices, especially as Quark's mother [[Ishka]] establishes herself as a respected businesswoman and financial advisor.  Evidently, the fact that granting full societal and economic rights to females would mean a dramatic expansion of business and investment opportunities proved persuasive to the Ferengi government.  By 2380, Grand Nagus' reforms had taken effect, as seen in the acceptance of clothing for females.

Despite their greed and sexism, in their own way the Ferengi are actually quite a peaceful and tolerant race. Ferengi history contains nothing comparable to the racism and world wars found in human history. Given that one customer's money is as valuable as the next's, it makes no sense to Ferengi to refuse to interact with those different from them: even Quark of all people feels the discrimination Odo faces for being a changeling is repugnant. While they have hired mercenaries for private contracts, the Ferengi Alliance as a whole has never fought a major interstellar war - instead preferring to apply economic pressure on their rivals until they're willing to negotiate.