Technocracy
A Technocracy is defined as a system in which people with a lot of knowledge about science or technology control a society.[1] A technocratic state, or a state controlled by engineers and expertise[2], generally has experts secluded into unelected bureaucracies.[3]
History
William Henry Smyth has been recognized as inventing the word "technocracy" in 1919 to describe as he put it: "the rule of the people made effective through the agency of their servants, the scientists and engineers"[4]. Smyth had Industrial Democracy in mind when he coined the term[5].
A second group of technocrats in the 1930's, led by Howard Scott, built what was at the time known as the Technocracy Movement.[6]
Critiques
James Burnham
In his seminal work The Managerial Revolution, Burnham lists Technocracy as one of four managerial ideologies alongside Communism, Nazism, and New Dealism.
Elected and Unelected
As a political term, Technocracy tends to be a bit elastic[7], meaning that the definition of both the word and the application(s) have shifted over time.
Elected
Prime Ministers Mario Monti and Lucas Papademos have both been considered technocrats.[8]
Unelected
More often than not, technocrats exercise influence from unelected boards and bureaus, as is often seen both in the European Union[9][10] and in the United States from agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency.[11]
Technocracy and Socialism
Technocracy has drawn comparison with early socialist theorists such as Henri de Saint-Simon.[12]
In addition, Upton Sinclair was very excited[13] about the coming Technocracy movement and lauded its arrival. He wrote:
| â | Socialists have been saying pretty much the same thing for the past two generations. But then, nobody pays much attention to us Socialists. This time, however, it is the leading experts of the engineering profession who are speaking - the sort of people the American public looks up to.[14] | â |
Stuart Chase, an early member of the Technical Alliance, was also an ardent socialist.
See Also
References
- â technocracy: definition. Merriam-Webster.
- â Technocracy and the Politics of Expertise
- â The Rise of the Unelected: Democracy and the New Separation of Powers
- â Jones, Barry. Sleepers, Wake! Technology and the Future of Work. Oxford University Press, 214.Â
- â Smyth, William H.. Technocracy Parts I-IV., Working Explosively, A Protest Against Mechanistic Efficiency. Working Explosively Versus Working Efficiently. Berkeley Gazette. âTechnocracy Part III., "Technocracy" - Ways and Means To Gain Industrial DemocracyâÂ
- â Technological Utopianism in American Culture
- â Minds like machines -Government by experts sounds tempting, especially in a crisis. It can work. But brief stints have the best chances, The Economist
- â Who, What, Why: What can technocrats achieve that politicians can't?, BBC
- â EU Chief: Our Work Should Not be Transparent, Breitbart.com
- â The rise of governments led by technocrats in Europe illustrates the failure of mainstream political parties., London School of Economics
- â Take Control, Congress, National Review
- â Concepts of Technocracy
- â Arthur M. Schlesinger (2003). The Crisis of the Old Order, 1919-1933 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, p. 463.
- â "Technocracy's Theory Lauded by Socialists", 23 December 1932.Â