Technocracy movement
- This article is about a movement that supports the use of technology to enhance society. See Technocrat (disambiguation) for other uses.
The technocratic movement is a politico-economic movement that advocates the optimization of the welfare of human beings, by means of scientific analyses and engineered action. A core beliefs is that the current price system makes no sense in the technologically advanced society that we live in today, as it limits our potential. The movement does not limit itself to established economic, political and administrative forms, but considers those as human artifacts subject to optimization.
The movement uses scientific reasoning to show that a technate is possible.
History
Howard Scott started the Technocratic movement as the "Technical Alliance" in the winter of 1918–1919. It started as a research organization that recruited scientists, architects and engineers. In 1933 it incorporated in the state of New York as a non-profit, non-political non-sectarian organization (Technocracy Inc.). In 1934, Howard Scott, then director-in-chief (his organizational title was "Chief Engineer"), promoted the organization and its goals with a North American lecture tour. The group remains in existence, and still recruits members.
The specific term Technocracy Incorporated applies to a movement started by Howard Scott. Technocracy Incorporated wants to use full automation for higher levels of efficient production, computers to track consumer demand, and energy credits to replace money, as Technocracy Inc. is opposed to the price system. The organization was established in 1933. Their magazine, The Technocrat, is still published today.
Errors with the price system
Certain long-term economic trends encourage technocratic beliefs. It is a fact that the labor content of production peaked around 1930, and is continuing to fall. At this time, less than 4% of the people of North America produce all foodstuffs, housing and manufactured goods. The majority of the work was being done by machines.
Every other working person performed services of some type, and most of these services could be (and are being) reduced or eliminated by better management, automation, and centralization. In practice, a large number of people perform services, however, there are rational limits to the amount of services we can consume. As the arts of these services advance, we can expect to consume more services, with ever less labor content as well.
The result is that more than 95% of the population of North America could become a permanent leisure class, and not a poor one, either. An example used by technocrats would be a factory that employs 300 workers. Technocrats argue that fully automating the factory should result in the 300 workers being able to go on permanent vacation without a decrease in their living standard. It is well known that in order to survive, a person needs a way to get money (i.e. a job that for the 300 factory workers is nonexistent), and thus the price system, technocrats argue, stands in the way.
Technocrats argue that artificial scarcity and the price system prevent a leisure class. Artificial scarcity is the common management practice of deliberately reducing production to the level at which money is available to pay for the goods. This is the abundance of a post-scarcity era, a problem so frustrating to economists and managers that its only fix is to under produce. An example that encourages the technocratic movement would be the fact that North America has the resources to feed all of its citizens, but the current price system limits how it distributes the food.
In the real world, technocrats claim, the price system has been propped up by increasingly huge amounts of debt, which began to increase exponentially after 1930. This has been concealed as the national debt and mortgages (see global debt). This system, however, will eventually fail because of its contradictions with the real world, in which case the movement plans to have educated enough of the populace in order to peaceably make changes to the social structure.
Design of a technate
A technate, the so-called name of a technocratic society, consists of many ideas that are explained in detail below.
Distribution
In a technocratic society, the productive capacity of the technate is distributed equally amoung its citizenry. Due to technological progress, an abundance is created. Since no one owns anything in a technate (or rather everything is owned publicly) distribution provides equality to the members. Distribution in a technate would also include any technology used to transport goods to people.
Also, technocrats state that technology should be used for mankind's benefit. If a factory that originally employed 300 fully automates itself and only one employee is needed to inspect the machinery, technocrats argue that the 300 that used to work there should each work 1/300th of the time. This is a microeconomic example, and in the whole, jobs would be done by those that are interested and apt.
Many beliefs encourage the technocratic movement to opt for distribution. They point out that the production capacity of the United States is large enough to feed all of its citizens, but the distribution method of the price system ensures that the poor must rely on kindness for help.
Energy accounting
An energy-credit is a hypothetical unit of currency used in a technate. Unlike traditional money, energy-credits cannot be saved or earned, only distributed evenly among a populace. The amount of credit given to each citizen would be calculated by determining the total productive capacity of the technate and dividing it equally. The reason for the use of energy-credits serves to ensure equality amoung the technate's citizenry as well as prohibit spending that is beyond the productive capacity of the technocracy.
The system is usually referred to as energy accounting.
The North American technate
The North American technate is a design and plan that is being developed to transform North America into a technocratic society after the collapse of capitalism, or the price system. The plan includes using Canada's rich deposits of minerals and hydro-electric power as a complement to the United States's industrial and agricultural capacity.
Opposition
Currently, the movement is not well known. Organized opposition has yet to be prevalent. However, technocrats themselves would argue that those in "power" (politicians and heads of corporations) are a form of organized opposition. The movement would claim that they have helped spread a negative connotation to the term and any ideologies that seem related to the movement. Many people who just learn about the movement stand in opposition because:
- Removing the price system and ridding an area of capitalism are huge reforms
- Some people would argue that the movement is too "communist"
- Some argue that technology cannot solve all of our problems
- The movement makes an assumption that the price system is the cause for most social problems
- Opponents say that the movement lacks organization and a clear path
- Some argue that people too easily accept the movement because it offers things like equal distribution of productive capacity and more vacation time.
Another conflict arises with the process of distribution. Opponents argue that naturally scarce things (gold, diamonds, the Mona Lisa) are nearly impossible to distribute.
External links
- Technocracy.ca
- Technocracy Incorporated
- Unofficial Technocracy FAQ
- Manna, a story which extrapolates current business automation trends and shows the results, and a Technocracy-like solution