Technocracy Is Best Vehicle For Our Future

Lorraine Rhode

1990

Published in:

The Northwest Technocrat, 3rd quarter 1990, No. 320

Dear Editor:

Two articles in the Post Crescent, "U.S. can't afford the economic hardship of peace" (Nov. 25/89) and "Economic stability relies on sales" (Nov. 28/89) -- point to the flimsy understanding of the impact science and technology has on our lives and how we should operate our economy. We are deathly afraid of peace and think if we buy, buy, buy, we can buy prosperity, but if spending slackens there will be a depression. Where are our brains? Can't we think of a better way to operate? Money has become useless as a distributer of goods and services, and is our most serious social problem.

For the first time in history, with science and technology, we are able to produce, with fewer workers, more goods and services than there is money to buy the increased production -- enough for all North Americans. This calls for a completely different method of operation, one that will work in harmony with the environment and the resource-technological capabilities of this Continent -- or our obsolete "free enterprise" system will eliminate us. There is no freedom without economic security.

Technological production began before the Great Depression, in fact was mostly the cause of the Great Depression when over 50 years ago huge quantities of food stuffs were destroyed as people didn't have the money to buy the increased production -- no jobs, no money, no food. People went hungry, and it has continued ever since. Milk was poured into ditches and fruits and vegetables were dumped in fields and crude oil poured over them to prevent people getting any for free. Now, surpluses are stored in caves at great cost while the number of poor and homeless grows. Does this make sense?

World War II bailed the U.S. out of the Depression, and prosperity continued in the Cold War with Russia serving as the necessary "enemy" to justify the spending of billions of dollars for armaments each year. (No half-pint enemy would do.) The bottom line of the military policy of the U.S. is profits, not its deterrent value. Under the obsolete Price System we are trillions of dollars in debt which will never be paid. How big is a trillion? (One trillion seconds in time equals 32,000 years.) War is obsolete, solves nothing, just reduces population, maims people and destroys resources.

The free enterprise system is like an old jalopy that has outlived its usefulness. We change drivers at election time, hopefully expecting the old jalopy to run again, but no matter how willing and dedicated the drivers may be, they can do no more than the old vehicle is capable of doing. New drivers or a new vehicle? Technocracy is that new vehicle, modern, high-powered and extremely efficient, ready to advance civilization to a new height.

Lorraine Rhode

From The Post Crescent, Neenah, WI., December, 1989.