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| -Land of the Free |
| America Is A Technocracy, Not A Democracy |
| 2020-05-05 |
| [mises.org] Perhaps never before in American history have the unelected technocrats [You mean like in Bruxelles?] played such an enormous role in shaping public policy in America. In recent weeks, members of Congress have been missing in action. Late last month, the House of Representatives passed the biggest spending bill in history while most members were absent. Member votes were not recorded and the legislation was passed with a voice vote, which required only a tiny handful of members. Weeks later, the Senate refuses to even meet, and may finally get around to debating some legislative matters in May. As with the House, a handful of members assembled earlier to approve another enormous stimulus bill. Many Senators stayed home. This is "representative government" in modern America. But if you thought this lack of congressional action means not much is happening in Washington in terms of policymaking, you would be very wrong. It's just that the democratically elected institutions have now become a largely irrelevant sideshow. The real policymaking takes place among unelected experts, who decide for themselves—with minimal oversight or control from actual elected officials—what will happen in terms of public policy. The people who really run the country are these experts and bureaucrats at the central banks, at public health agencies, spy agencies, and an expanding network of boards and commissions. THE RISE OF THE TECHNOCRACY This is not a new trend. Over the past several decades—and especially since the New Deal—official experts in government have gradually replaced elected representatives as the primary decision-makers in government. Public debate has been abandoned in favor of meetings among small handfuls of unelected technocrats. Politics has been replaced by "science," whether social science or physical science. These powerful and largely unaccountable decision-makers are today most noticeable in federal courts, in "intelligence" agencies, at the Federal Reserve, and—long ignored until now—in government public health agencies. Technocracy as a style of governing has been around at least since the Progressive Era, although it has often been restrained by traditional legislative and elected political actors and institutions. Globally, it has gained prominence in a variety of times and places, for example in Mexico during the 1980s and 1990s. But the technocracy's power has long been growing in the United States as well. This may seem odd in a world where we are told democracy is among the highest political values, but technocrats have nonetheless managed to justify themselves through myths asserting that technocrats make scientific decisions guided only by The Data. These technocrats, we are told, care nothing of politics and only make sound decisions based on where the science leads. Although that all may sound more reasonable or logical to some, the truth is that there is nothing nonpolitical, scientific, or evenhanded about government by technocrat. Technocrats, like everyone else, have their own ideologies, their own agendas, and their own interests. Often, their interests are greatly at odds with those of the general public that pays the technocrats' salaries and is subject to the technocracy's edicts. The rise of technocracy has only meant that the means of influencing policy is now limited to a much smaller number of people—namely those who are already influential and powerful in the halls of government. Technocracy seems less political, because the political wrangling is limited to what used to be called "smoke-filled rooms." That is, technocracy is really a sort of oligarchy, although not limited to the financially wealthy. It's limited to people who went to the "right" schools or control powerful corporations such as Google or Facebook, or work for influential media organizations. It's branded "nonpolitical," because ordinary voters and taxpayers are excluded from even knowing who is involved or what policies are being proposed. In other words, technocracy is government by a small exclusive club. And you ain't in it.... |
| Posted by:Clem |
| #7 #6 This is why I prefer the phrase "technogarchy". |
| Posted by: charger 2020-05-05 13:20 |
| #6 "Democracy", eh? I remember a history on the early Greek city states that exposed the central problem with "democracy": Who votes? Is it everybody or only a select few? The difference between an Oligarchy and a Democracy is only a matter of degree. |
| Posted by: magpie 2020-05-05 11:54 |
| #5 ^Spoilsport |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2020-05-05 08:48 |
| #4 As I understand it, your founding fathers deliberately designed USA to not be a democracy. 1. it was a union of states in a contract. 2. it was ratified by the states, not the people. 3. it was why the anti-federalists won the final argument with the inclusion of the first 10 amendments, aka Bill of Rights. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2020-05-05 08:37 |
| #3 Thank you #2. I get sick and tired of the ignorance of civics displayed so often in articles like this. The "technocracy" is established by the elected representatives. And should be controlled by them. It's impossible to form a government by law that can ensure that all the folks involved are hard-working, knowledgeable and honest. As far as technocrats go they have been around since at least the times of the pharaohs most often they were of the priestly class. Semantics don't really matter. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2020-05-05 08:17 |
| #2 As I understand it, your founding fathers deliberately designed USA to not be a democracy. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2020-05-05 03:21 |
| #1 Welcome to the Social Contract 2.0 It comes with a reCAPTCHA click-through, and has fine print ToS. Oh ! And 'cookies'. |
| Posted by: Dron66046 2020-05-05 00:17 |