The Search for an Answer

Jack Bergel

1992

Published in:

The Northwest Technocrat, 2nd quarter 1992, No. 327

We should ponder the statement of H.G. Wells: "civilization is a race between education and catastrophe." It should be obvious now, and it is to many, that we are nearing the end of that race. Technocracy has informed millions of people of our social problem and its solution. Whether Technocracy has succeeded or not, time will tell; Technocracy is not inevitable. If luck favors North Americans, this effort will result in long term survival for the people in North America; but, if we do not pay heed, some other species, more favored by nature, will probably continue to inhabit the planet. Man has no guarantee that he is a permanent species, and the same fate will likely be faced by the rest of the nations of this world. In a large measure, the future survival of many of the people on this planet depends upon events here, on this Continent, and could be determined in the next few years. North Americans have the potential for providing a model for others.

We shall have to find an answer to the problems that threaten our common survival that cannot be resolved and eliminated by the political process, by big or little business, by the judiciary, or by the various religious communities. It should be easily seen that there is no institution within the framework of the present social structure, the Price System, that can provide the leadership and direction required.

Reading today's headlines, it stands out that editorials, economists, politicians, professors, think tanks, government spokesman and others, all have begun to focus on disintegrating nations, on violence, on corruption, poverty, growing joblessness, hunger, malnutrition, on sick eco-systems and other troubles, as though these societal malfunctions have just become realities, and as though they have never heard of Technocracy's warnings as far back as the 1930s.

How do our Price System institutions respond to the physical problems we face? Politicians debate, orate, lay blame, pass countless laws, most of which no one pays any attention to, including themselves. Corporations, harnessed to the goal of profit for stockholders, will only play their role as obligated by the Price System. Economists are helpless in explaining events, having nothing to work with except obsolete concepts dealing with money.

To gain an understanding of the problems facing this civilization, we must be aware of concepts used in science and engineering, such as extraneous and non-extraneous energy, production and consumption, load factors, and other technological engineering measurements.

There is only one answer for us all. Technocracy -- and that means science applied to the entire social structure. There is no other way out of this mess.