The Technocratic Elite and The Future They Hold in their Hands

Imagine you are living in a city that receives all of its hot water from one boiler room, run by one man who possesses exclusive knowledge on how to run the boilers. Now, you can imagine that this man has quite a bit of power. The city needs hot water and the boiler man is the only person who can supply the water, thanks to the knowledge that only he possess. This man is known as a technocrat. His technical abilities have lifted him above, and separated him from, his fellow man. He is a member of the elite and all people, if they are to receive the benefits only he can provide, must work to please him. And that is the future we are walking into.

Technical ability is one of those skills that has been widely prized throughout history. Those people who possessed technical ability in useful disciplines often were handsomely rewarded for their services. Blacksmiths in the middle ages commanded a high price for their services thanks to the usefulness of their craft. Merchants and artisans during the Renaissance were invaluable thanks to their business savvy minds. Today, plumbers, electricians, and tradesman are valued members of society thanks to their own technical abilities. While various technical abilities are still prized today, there are few technical abilities more valued today than technical ability in computing and mechanical engineering. But, to keep fully with the spirit of this blog, I just want to focus on technical ability in computing.

The use and ubiquity of computers has grown exponentially since the introduction of the first operating system over 60 years ago. Just 25 years ago, computers occupied most business places, offices, government buildings, organizations, and homes. Now, in 2015, computers have a hold so tight on first-world civilizations that we can’t imagine our lives without them. Just about every piece of electronic equipment we have has some sort of computing device built-in. They are in our cars, televisions, phones, tablets, microwaves, dishwashers, stoves, ovens, washing machines, cash registers, home-heating systems, entertainment systems, game consoles, etc.  You can find computers where you least expect them. I smoked an e-cigarette for a short while only to learn later that it too had a small built-in processor, which, quite frankly, blew my mind. It was at that time that I fully appreciated how far and how deep computers have spread and dove.

What does all this mean? It means technical ability reigns supreme in the hands of the technocrats.

But what is a technocracy? In the opening paragraph of this post, I called the boiler man a technocrat because he had possession of useful and exclusive knowledge. However, he’s only a technocrat in an unofficial, but important, meaning of the term. The traditional definition of a technocracy is as follows: A technocracy is a system of  government that is controlled by a group of elite technical experts. The idea of a technocracy first emerged in the early 1900’s. The original idea was to have scientists and engineers replace business people and politicians in governing society. Sounds good, right? Well, I’m not hear to argue about the merits of a technocracy. Instead, I want to focus on the technocrats themselves and the hold they have over most people in our high-tech civilization.

In the United States, we don’t have a technocracy by law. We have a Constitutional Republic with representatives that are elected by their voters. A technocracy doesn’t work that way. Instead, the lead technicians assume social and governmental control over the populace by virtue of their ability. Technocrats are intended to be benevolent dictators who know what’s best for the common man and are to act in the common man’s best interests.

To reiterate, a technocracy is a system of government controlled by elite technical experts. The United States doesn’t have a technocracy, or does it? As mentioned above, the United States isn’t a technocracy by law. Instead, I’ll argue that it is a technocracy by fact.

Think about it. We are absolutely dependent on our technological devices. Most people would be severely lost without their personal gadgets and gizmos. Our technology has, on one had, greatly improved people’s standard of living. On the other hand, it has made most people incapable of living without it. You could almost say that most people are “ruled” by technology. And who rules the technology? Who designs it, implements it, and understands it? The technocrats (and boiler man) of course. Thanks to our sophisticated technology, we live in a de facto technocracy! The technology that we depend upon has elevated the technocratic class to a god-like status.

What a disappointment if you aren’t a technocrat! If you are a technocrat, it’s a pretty good deal to say the least.

Is this a sorry state of affairs? Not necessarily provided our technocratic overlords are a kind and benevolent bunch. But if you aren’t comfortable with this state of affairs and can’t stand the thought of being at the “mercy” of the technocrats, you can always improve your own technical abilities. That is the route I have chosen and I don’t see myself regretting it. Technology is here to stay. What matters now is whether you choose to understand it or leave that responsibility to the technocrats.