Anyone seeing this episode in today's late-stage capitalist society can really connect the haunting parallels between what this episode predicts and where society is headed. Sadly, even this dystopian depiction of where things lead us to may have too optimist of an idea as to how we'll ever get kicked out of our mindset (if ever). Things have already been in the state they are in this episode with refugee camps and homelessness reaching epidemic levels, and nobody's been galvanized into doing anything about it.
Regardless, this episode and the one before it touch upon classicism and the lack of empathy between the lower and upper class divide, worsened by the upper class making themselves as remote from the lower class as possible. This is a real concept that exists, and what this episode does better than most others is it doesn't depict all of the homeless people as sideshows in a circus with a human interior-- but rather humans first, and their downfalls next.
Anyone who says this episode is "preachy" is either likely not in the demographic the message is intended for, or sadly is lacking the empathy to consider the message delivered (which, frankly, I'm surprised they're watching Deep Space Nine at all, as it's all about considering things from other points of view).
Once this message is delivered and taken home to the heart of society, only then can we ever hope to get anywhere near what Star Trek as a whole hopes to take us to.
Regardless, this episode and the one before it touch upon classicism and the lack of empathy between the lower and upper class divide, worsened by the upper class making themselves as remote from the lower class as possible. This is a real concept that exists, and what this episode does better than most others is it doesn't depict all of the homeless people as sideshows in a circus with a human interior-- but rather humans first, and their downfalls next.
Anyone who says this episode is "preachy" is either likely not in the demographic the message is intended for, or sadly is lacking the empathy to consider the message delivered (which, frankly, I'm surprised they're watching Deep Space Nine at all, as it's all about considering things from other points of view).
Once this message is delivered and taken home to the heart of society, only then can we ever hope to get anywhere near what Star Trek as a whole hopes to take us to.