There have been several Star Trek episodes about this, notably centered around the conceit of the Prime Directive[0], which states that a starfaring society sho

There have been several Star Trek episodes about this, notably centered around the conceit of the Prime Directive[0], which states that a starfaring society should not interfere with the development of a system- or planet-bound society. What makes it a useful conceit is the stories that can be told about when or if that directive should be broken. Should first contact be made if it would save a civilization from collapse, for example? Another issue that is touched on in some episodes is that non-interventionism as a blanket rule disadvantages the members of the community that might in fact want to be "uplifted", whether because they are currently oppressed in that community or because they simply are drawn to new and different things. I think the key thing, for me, is that each individual should be entitled to make the decision about how (or if) they choose to be "uplifted" for themselves, and they should also retain the right to withdraw from that process at any time. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Directive https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Directive