Technocracy
Technocracy is an organizational structure where governance is primarily managed by individuals with specialized technical expertise rather than by elected politicians. This concept emphasizes decision-making based on knowledge in fields such as science and economics, contrasting with traditional democratic systems where leaders are chosen through public elections. Advocates argue that technocracies can effectively address complex societal issues by relying on the expertise of technocrats, who can implement policies that may be necessary but unpopular. Historically, the roots of technocracy can be traced back to ancient ideas, such as Plato's notion of philosopher kings, evolving significantly during the Industrial Revolution. Notable historical instances of technocracy include the Soviet Union, which featured a governing body comprised of many technical experts, and short-lived technocratic movements in the United States during the Great Depression. Additionally, technocracy has resurfaced in modern contexts, with technocratic leaders taking charge in countries like Italy and Greece during economic crises. While the concept has garnered praise for its potential efficiency, it has also faced criticism for being undemocratic and potentially serving only as a temporary solution.
Subject Terms
Technocracy
A technocracy is an organizational structure in which decisions primarily are made by individuals with specialized expertise in technical fields. More specifically, the term is used to describe a type of government run by technical experts rather than politicians. Unlike the typical democracy, in which government leaders are chosen by the people, leaders in technocracies are appointed based on their intimate knowledge of select technical fields such as science or economics. Although technocracy is largely hypothetical in practice, it has been discussed theoretically in one form or another since antiquity and has seen a number of real world applications throughout history.
Over the years, the concept of technocracy has engendered a great deal of both praise and criticism. While supporters argue that technocracies are beneficial because they are led by technical experts who often are more knowledgeable about important issues than normal politicians, critics frequently charge that a technocratic government would be undemocratic and ultimately would be useful only as a short term fix.
What Is Technocracy?
To fully understand the concept of technocracy, it is first necessary to understand the meaning of the term technocrat. Derived from the Greek words tekhne, which means skill or craft, and kratos, which means power, technocrat refers to an expert in some technical field who serves as a governmental leader. While the term can apply to an expert in virtually any technical field, it is more likely to be used in reference to those who specialize in fields such as economics when taken in the context of governmental leadership. Technocrats are unique among government leaders because, unlike typical politicians, they base their decisions on their own knowledge instead of public opinion. The term technocrat also can be used to refer to an individual who advocates the establishment of a government run by technical experts.
Based on the definition of technocrat, a technocracy is an organization or government run by technical experts who make decisions based on their knowledge of key technical fields. More simply, it can be defined as rule by experts. Those who support the idea of technocracies argue that they have a number of key advantages over traditional democracies. Because technocrats are appointed rather than elected, for example, they are not burdened by the political bickering that results when elected officials have to compete for public support. Technocracy supporters also argue that because of their specialized expertise, technocrats are better equipped to understand and address complex issues such as the economy than are politicians. As a result, it may be easier for technocrats to fix societal problems and bring about needed change, even when that task involves the implementation of policies that may not be popular with the general public.
Technocracy in History
The concept of technocracy originated in antiquity and can be traced back at least to the renowned Greek philosopher Plato's fourth century B.C.E. suggestion for a society led by philosopher kings, or the world's enlightened truth-seekers. Although this idea lasted through the centuries, it differs fundamentally from technocracy as it is known today in that the modern conception of technocracy assumes the existence of the sort of advanced industrial societies and production processes that began to appear around the turn of the twentieth century. During the Industrial Revolution, the ideas associated with the contemporary understanding of technocracy first took hold. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, technocracy advocates such as Frederick Taylor and Alexander Bogdanov argued in favor of technocratic rule by experts on the grounds that under the particular social and economic conditions of the time, experts in organization and production were uniquely qualified to form a ruling class to lead modern society.
On a number of occasions throughout the twentieth century, the concept of technocracy played a crucial role in the development of governments and social movements. Perhaps the most notable example of technocratic influence in a major world government came with the rise of the Soviet Union in 1922. With a chief governing body—the Politburo—that boasted a remarkable number of engineers and other technical experts, the Soviet Union often is cited as the world's first true technocracy. Though it ultimately collapsed in the 1990s, the Soviet Union thrived for decades in no small part due to the rapid industrialization it underwent in the 1930s as a veritable army of technical experts were invited into the Communist Party. At the same time, technocracy also briefly became a subject of great interest in the United States. At the height of the Great Depression, some outspoken Americans suggested that technocracy might offer a reliable way of stimulating much needed economic recovery. Specifically, Howard Scott, an engineer who led the short-lived technocracy movement, argued that the economy should be controlled by the scientists who best understood how to handle the country's financial problems. Ultimately, the American technocracy movement all but died out with the onset of World War II.
In addition to the Soviet technocracy and the United States' flirtation with the concept in the 1930s, there are a few more modern examples of technocracy coming to the aid of ailing countries. In the early 1990s, a string of technocratic prime ministers led Italy through turbulent economic times the nation endured after it was expelled from the European Monetary System. Among these leaders was economist and banker Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, who served as prime minister from 1993 to 1994. A number of technocratic prime ministers also have taken the reigns of Greece at times of economic uncertainty, including Xenophon Zolotas in 1989 and Lucas Papademos in 2011.
Bibliography
Anders, Charlie Jane. "What the Hell Is a 'Technocrat,' and Are You One of Them?" io9. Gawker Media. 1 Nov. 2013. Web. 1 Mar. 2016. http://io9.gizmodo.com/what-the-hell-is-a-technocrat-and-are-you-one-of-the-1456877700
"Minds like Machines." Economist. The Economist Newspaper Limited. 16 Nov. 2011. Web. 1 Mar. 2016. http://www.economist.com/node/21538698
"Who, What, Why: What Can Technocrats Achieve That Politicians Can't?" BBC News. BBC. 14 Nov. 2011. Web. 1 Mar. 2016. http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-15720438
Wickman, Forrest. "What's a Technocrat?" Slate. The Slate Group. 11 Nov. 2011. Web. 1 Mar. 2016. http://www.slate.com/articles/news‗and‗politics/explainer/2011/11/technocrats‗and‗the‗european‗debt‗crisis‗what‗s‗a‗technocrat‗.html