The 21st century in which the rate of technological development is constantly transforming the economies, societies and international relations, has grown interest in the concept of technocracy. Technocracy can be defined as a form of governance whereby the people who make the decisions are chosen because of their knowledge in their area of interests. The Technocracy is an opposite of political systems whose leaders are elected or whose governance is held in political ideologies. Technocracy in essence focuses on utilizing data to make decisions, efficiency and scientific rationality, usually arguing that experts, such as engineers, scientists, economists, and other professionals can run sophisticated modern society in a better way than professional politicians.

Historical Background/origins

The term technocracy goes way back in the early 20 th century when the world was swept by the growth of industries and consequent faith in science and engineering. It first came into vogue in America during the 1930s among a circle of engineers and scientists who were somehow compelled to believe that familiar institutions of politics were not up to handling a more complex industrialized society.These technocrats have been early proposed a brand-new order in which the economy would be run by rational planning in the hands of technical experts and that what they identified as wasteful and corrupt was capitalism as well as partisan politics.

Among the most prominent technocratic movements was the one that occurred during the great depression. In North America, the Technocracy Inc. movement led by Howard Scott proposed a governance system of the continent managed by scientists and engineers and resource allocation by energy accounting, instead of monetary accounting. Although this movement never had political life, this has led to continuing disputes as to the place of technical knowledge in governance…

Technocracy Principles

There are a number of fundamental tenets of technocracy:

Skill Instead of Vote: Technocrats would not elect people on the basis of the number of votes that they receive. Instead, people are chosen by the merit of their skills. The point is that there are highly technical solutions to complex modern issues such as climate change, pandemic, or economic turmoil, and they are best planned by individuals possessing special knowledge.

Evidence-Based Policy: Policies are arrived at using empirical analysis, data and scientific methodology as opposed to ideology or political expediency.

Efficiency and rational planning: Technocracy favours efficiency and attempts to optimize systems; whether economic, environmental or social, through long-term rational planning.

Reduction of Political Bias: Technocracies seek to limit corruption, nepotism and populism in the decision making process through the use of partisan politics.

Practicing technocracy

It is also the case that no country technically operates as a technocracy whilst pieces of technocratic rulings have a myriad of forms over the globe. The Fed or any other central banks, which might include the European Central Bank, have been known to be filled with economists who have considerable independence in terms of politics. These organizations are examples of technocracy being implemented: The application of complex models and data to direct the monetary policy without the involvement of elected people.

Technocratic governments have become manifest as well during the crisis. One case could be in Italy in 2011 when the country got in an intense economic recession and economist Mario Monti was made the Prime Minister. His government mainly consisted of highly qualified people who were mandated to stabilize the finances of the country. Such technocratic caretaker regimes were appointed in Greece and other countries that encountered economic or political crises.

Singapore is commonly mentioned as a technocratic state in Asia. The government relies heavily on meritocracy, long-term planning, and incorporation of technical skills in policy making. The technocratic form of governance is usually considered as the determining factor underlying the success of the city-state with its policies on urban planning, the state of public health, and the economy.

Negative Comments and Objections

Although technocracy is an attractive proposal to approach the management of complicated contemporary problems, it has its share of prominent nays:

Democratic Deficit: The critics claim that technocracy has the potential to threaten the democratic values since it concentrates power in the hands of experts who have not been voted. To this opinion, technocracy is not accountable and can contribute to elitism in which the decisions are reached by the small group of privileged people, and the needs of the normal citizens are less considered and regarded

Narrow Specialism: Experts can be extremely knowledgeable in particular fields but have no overarching knowledge about social values, human behaviour or politics. A strictly technical solution to a problem may be effective, but unacceptable, either socially or ethically.

Excessive Relying on Data: Although data is priceless, it will not be able to reveal all of the humanity-related details. The issue of overusing metrics and algorithms can result in cultural, emotional, and moral blindness of the policy.

Resistance to Change: Technocratic regimes tend to be inflexible and reject popular participation or the innovativeness of thoughts beyond established scientific patterns. This may kill innovation or democracy.

Conclusion

With the onset of a world more and more characterized by artificial intelligence, automation, rising climatic changes, and interconnectedness, the enticement of technocracy will most likely strengthen. Citizens who are tired of political stagnation or disinformation are more likely to view with more favor a government that prizes facts, ability and outcomes.

But the issue will be to determine how to strike the right balance between this and the democratic process of making policies; how to move away with expert knowledge to be incorporated in making of policies at the expense of democratic process. There are proposals to include hybrid systems with elected politicians side by side with independent expert councils to provide both responsibility and expert advice. Alternative suggestions include deliberative democracy models such that the citizens will interact in a formalized manner with professionals prior to making such decisions.

In conclusion, the idea of technocracy can give valuable lessons in governance of society in a digital age, however it should not be used without precaution. Experience is the name but also it is very necessary to be transparent, to be inclusive and to honor the democratic process.