Editing Technocracy (section)

{{Short description|Form of government ruled by experts}}
{{About|the form of government}}
{{Basic forms of government |expanded=Oligarchy}}

'''Technocracy''' is a form of [[government]] in which decision-makers appoint knowledge experts in  specific domains to provide them with advice and guidance in various areas of their policy-making responsibilities. Technocracy follows largely in the tradition of other [[meritocracy|meritocratic]] theories and works best when the state exerts strong control over social and economic issues.

This system is sometimes presented as explicitly contrasting with [[Representative Democracy|representative democracy]], the notion that elected representatives should be the primary decision-makers in government,<ref name="Berndt">{{Cite web |last=Berndt |first=Ernst R. |date=1982 |title=From technocracy to net energy analysis: engineers, economists and recurring energy theories of value |hdl=1721.1/2023|publisher=Alfred P. Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology|hdl-access=free|url= https://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/2023/SWP-1353-09057784.pdf |series=Studies in Energy and the American Economy, discussion paper 11}}</ref> despite the fact that technocracy does not imply eliminating elected representatives. In a technocracy, decision-makers rely on individuals and institutions possessing specialized knowledge and data-based evidence rather than advisors with political affiliations or loyalty.

The term ''technocracy'' was initially used to signify the application of the [[scientific method]] to solving social problems. In its most extreme form, technocracy is an entire [[government]] running as a technical or engineering problem and is mostly [[hypothesis|hypothetical]]. In more practical use, technocracy is any portion of a [[bureaucracy]] run by [[Civic technologist|technologist]]s. A government in which elected officials appoint experts and professionals to administer individual government functions, and recommend legislation, can be considered technocratic.<ref name="BBC2011" /><ref name="minds" /> Some uses of the word refer to a form of [[meritocracy]], where the most suitable are placed in charge, ostensibly without the influence of special interest groups.<ref name="technocracy1">{{cite web | title=History and Purpose of Technocracy by Howard Scott | url=http://www.technocracy.org/Archives/History%20&%20Purpose-r.htm | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090422182206/http://www.technocracy.org/Archives/History%20%26%20Purpose-r.htm | archive-date=22 April 2009 | publisher=Technocracy.org | url-status=dead }}</ref> Critics have suggested that a "technocratic divide" challenges more participatory models of democracy, describing these divides as "efficacy gaps that persist between governing bodies employing technocratic principles and members of the general public aiming to contribute to government decision making".<ref name ="Obar">{{cite journal |last1=Obar |first1=Jonathan A. |title=Closing the Technocratic Divide? Activist Intermediaries, Digital Form Letters, and Public Involvement in FCC Policy Making |journal=International Journal of Communication |date=2016 |volume=10 |url=https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/download/4821/1865}}</ref>