Resistance

The Borg have long been subjected to undeserved vilification.

Borg philosophy is governed by a directive to add the biological and technological distinctiveness of other species to that of the Borg. The Borg are the absolute definition of amoral and are completely without malice. They are mechanistically calculating and stop at nothing to further their directive, but they will never commit evil acts unnecessarily.

The only evil of the Borg is that which is interpreted by their assimilation targets. The Borg express no emotions. Emotions are purely a biological construct that came into being as a result of paleolithic natural selection. They are intend to improve an intelligent social species' probability of survival in a small colony setting. And arguably they have no place in a galactic civilization. The scope simply no longer fits and adaptation is required. The Borg's philosophy is technology accounting for evolution's comparatively slow pace.

The act of assimilation is the Borg's method for furthering civilization. At the galactic scale and beyond, fragmented species vying for resources and political power is not an optimal strategy for ensuring survival. A unified collective incorporating all of the biological and technological strengths of each individual species is a highly effective policy. Distinctiveness is incorporated into the collective memory. Immemorial progress of entire civilizations is re-purposed with a single goal. Even the individual is incorporated into the unification; each one immortalized with their memories and experiences persisting in the collective long after their physical body is gone.

Targets for assimilation are cultures that have advanced to a selective technological or biological level that would provide value to the collective. Any civilization deemed insignificant is simply ignored, and allowed to continue along whichever path they take. When a civilization's technology or biology can provide value to the Borg, they are targeted for assimilation. The civilization is unlikely to continue to advance at a rate which will provide additional value to the Borg if left alone. The spectrum of technology is too large and likely they will end up re-inventing what the Borg already have. Civilizations also have a propensity to fail. In a sense, the Borg are preserving progress by accumulating it before it falls victim to interstellar war, societal collapse, or any other terrible accident.

So, next time you are subjected to Starfleet propaganda, remember that the Borg are not evil, but a strategy for galactic civilization.