Starfleet isn't a military. Starfleet is a pacifist post-scarcity utopia dedicated to scientific and intellectual pursuit - militarism is an atavistic, primitive vice that humans have evolved beyond at that point.
That Starfleet just happens to use a military chain of command and fleet structure doesn't mean they've "militarized space" in any way. It's just a unique expression of Earth culture, and nothing more.
Starfleet is peaceful, it's everyone else in the galaxy who's warlike, because they fear Starfleet's freedom and way of life. If it weren't for those duplicitous Romulans and thuggish Klingons, Starfleet might not even need every ship to have enough firepower to boil the oceans off of a planet. But peace has to be defended.
Or would you rather have the Alpha Quadrant be run by aliens?
That Starfleet just happens to use a military chain of command and fleet structure doesn't mean they've "militarized space" in any way. It's just a unique expression of Earth culture, and nothing more.
Starfleet is peaceful, it's everyone else in the galaxy who's warlike, because they fear Starfleet's freedom and way of life. If it weren't for those duplicitous Romulans and thuggish Klingons, Starfleet might not even need every ship to have enough firepower to boil the oceans off of a planet. But peace has to be defended.
Or would you rather have the Alpha Quadrant be run by aliens?