Technocracy Offers Best Hope for our Civilization

George Wright

1996

Published in:

Technocracy Digest, 2nd quarter 1996, No. 320

A feeling is developing in many people that no matter what we do politically, economically, or morally, nothing we can do will help. For many of us, that fear becomes a reality when we are ``downsized'' or have used our life's savings for medical or other costs. Many are feeling the fear of seeing the words on a slip of paper indicating that they are next. Some of us are fortunate in having resources, that, for now at least, insulate against the forces of change, but we realize society is undergoing a rising tide of change.

What is that ``major force'' that we are experiencing? Are we again to be visited with a recurrence of the great Depression in which millions of people lost everything and many were near starvation? Businesses collapsed. People were near rebellion, and other governing philosophies such as communism or fascism were appealing.

Why did this happen? What caused such a sudden change in what seemed secure such a short time before?

The one overriding factor that is not readily admitted was the tremendous debt creation by the federal government. Without the build-up of industries for the war effort, paid for with debt, the economy would have remained stagnant. The only alternative to preserve the system was to go to the extreme of putting our Federal government in hock, despite the preaching of fiscal conservatives and others. Debt has always been regarded as an indication of moral decay in an individual, but here we have our shining example of capitalism resorting to that behavior. Why? The answer is that we were forced to. We had no choice in the matter -- if we were to save the money system.

And we still have no choice but to keep expanding the rate of debt creation to off-set the forces that undermine the price system.

The facts are quite visible; men and women employees have become obsolete. As more and more technical advances are applied to production, more and more debt must be created to artificially expand the economy. The operation of the Price System must somehow put purchasing power in peoples' hands so that they can use up the excess production. Thus, many unsavory devices are employed -- war, preparation for war, welfare, subsidies such as paying farmers not to grow crops, government purchases of dairy cattle to reduce milk production, storage and destruction of commodities. Tremendous waste has been necessary to preserve the Price System.

What have we accomplished with all this evasion of responsibility? We, as a nation are now in debt more than $15 trillion, and that debt is increasing at the rate of more than $200 billion per year. Yet, we must continue to create more debt. It is the only way that we can continue with this economy. And as Shakespeare said, ``Ah, there's the rub.''

We are now witness to the strident cries from our political leaders to, somehow, slash the budget. There is little discussion of the debt, which is heading for the stratosphere.

The problem, though, is our political leadership, and its many benefactors: the business and financial institutions, which have no alternative to the process that has brought us to the brink of disaster. Their attempts to ``fix'' the problem by cutting back on the very devices that salvaged the financial system from a collapse before, will aggravate the conditions of an already seriously ailing social system.

There is no possible solution to our social problems that can come from our present socio-economic structure.

Many aspects of our lives are based on beliefs and emotion, and they, of course, are what make us human. But they can also be an interference when trying to evaluate problems.

The events occurring in our country have never previously happened -- and will not happen again. What this means is that we have gone from the necessity of human toil in our struggle for existence to the ability to produce goods and services with just a small need for physical labor.

This phenomenon was scientifically studied in great detail much earlier in this century. The learned men and women who conducted this study were leaders in the fields of engineering, physics, education and architecture, to name a few. They applied the scientific method to the investigation of the effect of technology on society, and with this method they were able to evaluate the conditions and construct a design to help us in our transition from the past. They called their organization the Technical Alliance, which later became Technocracy Inc. The most significant factor that was discovered was that technology has irrevocably changed our way of living, and that we must adapt to those changes or suffer serious consequences.

It is the misuse of technology that is our real problem. So far, the only idea for the reorganization of society to become compatible with our new situation is Technocracy's Design. Any alternative, especially within the scope of politics, offers nothing but a stumbling forward to catastrophe.

The vast resources and the ingenious energy with which people approach problems, when not frustrated by obviously stupid obstacles, can be counted on to become the components of a better civilization.

An intelligent stewardship of North America is possible with the social design Technocracy offers.

-- Seattle Post-Intelligencer, February 17, 1996

George Wright is staff coordinator for the Northwest Technocrat, in Auburn, Wash.