So, What's Hard To Understand?

Editor

1996

Published in:

Technocracy Digest, 2nd quarter 1996, No. 320

Some people have said to us: ``We don't understand Technocracy. It just won't work. We can't read through all that stuff.'' Now, there's negativeness for you! They don't understand it, won't make an effort to understand it, so how would they know it won't work?.

Just consider this: A life without money! That's all you have to know to understand Technocracy. Your imagination can tell you the rest. It's as simple as that.

Just think: what would Your life be like without money? You wouldn't have to worry about how you were going to pay that next month's rent. Your housing would be provided for you. So would your heat and light. You could educate yourself to the best of your ability; that would be provided. You wouldn't have to worry about health care; that would be provided. In fact, you might not even have any health problems, as you would have regular medical checks from birth, and if any defects turned up, you would receive the best care that science could provide.

In a Technate (that's the name WE have given this social system, but regardless of what it is called) everyone would be given an Energy accounting card. Everything that is produced takes energy. The energy that it takes to provide goods and services to a population would have been totalled, and after the amount needed for essential services had been subtracted (essential services: your housing, food, health care, education) the remainder, for your other needs, would also be divided equally among the citizens. Your purchases (needs) would be entered in your Energy accounting card/Certificate as you required them. These Energy Certificates would provide a running inventory to show what goods people liked, which would then need to be manufactured.

This type of system could have been in effect 60 years ago. What has held it back? The financial and political houses of this Continent. Incidentally, they have made you believe they're your pals; they're not. They are your enemies. They have deceived you with their propaganda all these years. For over 60 years we could have had food and clothing for our children, instead of these statistics: many thousands of children under the poverty level are underfed, undereducated, and on the streets. Also, our parents and grandparents suffered years of repression; they couldn't achieve the goals they longed for. If something isn't rectified soon, the present generations are going to suffer the same consequences, and indeed, may be already in the throes of poverty.

How strange it is that we have the will to provide a healthy, satisfying, comfortable life for every person on this Continent, but these are being denied us by the interference of politics and money -- and we are allowing it to happen. We have the intelligence, the know-how and ingenuity, and the materials, to build anything we like that is needed to provide all citizens with what they should have -- as is their birthright. Scientists, like engineers, teachers, medical practitioners, artists, artisans, could have been happily improving our habitat all these years, but they have had their work throttled politically and financially, so that they have not been able to show the best that they can do. For example, a proper road cannot be built because it would cost too much money. A new school cannot be provided because it would cost too much money; or, a hospital would be built but only half the size and quality it should have been -- because it would cost too much money. Or, perhaps there is enough money to do these things, but the political party in the area won't release the money because they would get static from another section also clamoring for money, thus putting their political futures in jeopardy.

You see, with money out of the picture, you could reach your potential. You would have to donate some of your time to your country by working so many hours -- a fraction of what it is today -- but the rest of the time would be yours -- with lots of leisure hours and days to travel, educate yourself, indulge in sports, paint, sculpt, write, and enjoy the wonderful world we had given to us.

You wouldn't have to worry about your welfare because this would all be taken care of by experts in their field, all chosen by their peers -- the engineers, teachers, medical staff, electricians. These people do their jobs quite well now, except for the political and monetary interference. You can usually count on your telephone working; your lights coming on when you push a button -- and you don't have to bother learning what makes them work. You can drive a car, and yet not have to know what makes it run. You can punch the keys of a computer and come up with all kinds of information, and yet not know the function of any of the masses of wires inside the frame. But, if you did want to know more about what makes these mechanisms tick, then you would be free to study the intricacies of them. The same thing with Technocracy: if you want to know more about the subject, then be our guest. We have always asked people to ``investigate Technocracy.''

But, in any case, you would not have to worry about your welfare in a Technate. The services would be provided for your comfort and pleasure. This is all possible, and it would be a simple process to install this new social system. All it needs is for you to join us in our demand for a complete change of the social system. We must have this action by a concerned public in order to overcome the apathy that has brought us to the brink of devastation.