A movement that wanted to reunite North America and enlarge its borders to the extent of the Panama Canal may sound very common. However, this group, known as the “technocracy movement,” was made up of a group of nonconformists from the 1930s who had great ideas about how to reorganize American society. They made a perspective that may use science and technology to reduce waste and increase North America’s productivity.
The Technocrats, who occasionally go by the name Technocracy Inc., proposed combining Canada, Greenland, Mexico, the US, and some of key America into a single western unit. This they referred to as a “technate.” Instead of being divided by national boundaries and conventional social units, it was to be run by technical principles.
These notions seem to be in line with some new Trump presidency pronouncements regarding the US-Canada merger.
In addition, the US Department of Government Efficiency ( DOGE ), which Trump founded and is led by tech billionaire Elon Musk, has also laid out a vision of efficiency reductions by slashing bureaucracy, jobs, and getting rid of leaders of organizations and civil servants they believe are advance “woke” values ( such as diversity initiatives ). This slash-and-burn strategy also reflects some of the concepts of Technocrats.
Trump stated in February that “rule of the government is what we really have, as opposed to the principle of the people – democracy.” The Technocrats viewed elected officials as being ignorant. They urged their replacement to be replaced by scientists and engineers who “objectively” maintain resources for the good of society.
Musk stated to reporters after a month-long visit to the White House that” the people voted for significant federal transformation.”
What did the Technocrats want to eliminate?
The 1930s action was a research and educational organization that urged the US and Canada to ultimately reform their political, social, and economic systems. It based its conclusions on a guide called Technocracy, which an engineer named Walter Henry Smyth wrote in 1921 and that introduced fresh concepts in management and technology.
The Great Depression, a time of widespread poverty and financial issues that lasted from 1929 to 1939, attracted considerable attention during the Great Depression. At this time, radical ideas for structural change were sparked by common financial problems. The term “technocracy” was intended for those who saw scientific advancements as a possible remedy for economic injustice and inefficiency.
The Technocrats gained popularity primarily as a result of the efforts of Howard Scott, an architect and economist, along with a team of Columbia University scientists and engineers. Scott founded the Technical Alliance in 1932, which eventually changed into Technocracy Inc.
Scott and his supporters gave lectures, published booklets, and gained a sizable following, especially among technicians, scientists, and liberal thinkers. With more technology, the activity may have had an impact on the design of futuristic concepts like planned communities and economies.
The group’s intellectual base was founded on the idea of scientific control over industrial production and distribution. Despite the claims made by advocates, traditional economic systems like capitalism and socialism were ineffective and corrupt, and a clinically planned economy could provide abundance, stability, and justice.
In the 1930s, Technocracy Inc. people argued for a system where specialists made decisions based on data, productivity, and technical feasibility in place of market-based economies and democratic governance. Technocrats sought to control consumption and production based on power productivity rather than business forces.
Technocrats argued that automation and mechanization could cut down on animal labor while maintaining productivity. According to medical estimates of need and ecology, goods and services may be distributed.
The action immediately lost speed by the mid-to-late 1930s despite registering rapid growth in the early 1930s. Critics expressed concern about a state run by unelected experts, which may result in an institutionalized system of authoritarianism, with no people input or political control over decisions made.
Technocracy resurrected?
Are some of these thoughts returning to life in 2025, though? Musk is likely aware of the movement because of his parental association with it. Joshua N. Haldeman, his maternal grandfather, was a significant figure in the technocracy activity in Canada during the 1930s and 1940s.
Innovation and technology are at the top of Musk’s ventures, which include Tesla, his place system, SpaceX, and the neurotechnology company Neuralink, which are in line with the Technocrats ‘ goal of improving human society through scientific and technological means.
Tesla’s drive for self-driving cars that are powered by solar energy, for instance, aligns with the movement’s first aspirations for an energy-efficient, machine-managed community. Also, SpaceX’s desire to settle Mars is a sign that technology can be used to overcome the restrictions of daily life on Earth.
What Trump may agree with
However, the Technocrats and the recent US government have some important differences. Musk’s philosophy of trading is still firmly rooted in the complimentary business.
Instead of consolidated, expert-led planning, his endeavors thrive on competitors and private sector. The Trump administration clearly doesn’t believe in the abolishment of wealth, wages, and traditional forms of business, despite the Technocrats ‘ belief.
Trump thinks that lovers like him and officials like him should run the nation. Technocrats concerned that elected officials are motivated by self-interest. The recent US management seems to benefit combining business objectives with political will.
Although the technocracy movement previously achieved a majority in society, its ideas had an impact on later discussions on subjects like financial planning and scientific management. The technocracy movement’s supported idea of data-driven management is a component of contemporary planning, particularly in areas like energy performance and urban planning.
The use of AI and huge data has rekindled debates about the scope and position of technocracy in contemporary society. Management is dominated by departments led by those with technical backgrounds, who obtain an elite status in nations like Singapore and China.
The Technocrats faced substantial criticism in the 1930s. More powerful than they are today, the unions almost exclusively supported the progressive New Deal and its protection of workers ‘ rights. The US government’s renewed faith in the New Deal time was much greater than its political organizations’ declining support of them now, so those institutions would have been better positioned to deal with challenges than they are now.
Although the technocracy motion of the 1930s perhaps have faded, its guiding principles still dominate fashionable discussions about the intersection of technology and administrative planning. And perhaps more importantly, about who should be in demand.
Dafydd Townley teaches at the University of Portsmouth as a brother in global stability.
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