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SzymonWróbel
Afterthisdigressionreferringtotheclassicalpoliticalphilosophy
andremindingusofknownandpossiblepoliticalsystemsandforms,
letmereturntotheproblemoftechnocracy.Technocracy–under-
stoodasapoliticalform,butalsoacertainformoflife–isobviously
notaccountedforinanyenumerationoftheelders,neitherinPlato’s
LawsnorintheSocrates’enumerationfoundinRepublic.Onecould
arguethattheancientphilosophersdidnotdealwithtechnocracy,
becausetheylivedintherepressionoftechnology.Onemightargue
thattechnocracyisamoderninvention.Onecouldarguethatmass
democracyisbornwithtechnology.Ifthatwerethecase,itwould
renderyetthemoreimportantquestion:Whatformofconstitution,
whatformoflifeistechnocracy?Whatformofqualifications,com-
petences(axiomata)doestechnocracyrepresent?
Well,theprovisionalanswertothisquestionis:Technocracy,just
astheocracy,bothunaccountedforintheSocrates’enumeration,is
aninhumanformofgovernment.Technocracyistheruleneither
ofbestnorthemostambitious,therichestnorfreepeople.Tech-
nocracyisnotutheruleoftheelderly”,uparents”,uteachers”,unoble
people”,orevenupreachers”.Whileitmaybetemptingtoassociate
technocracywithgovernmentsofueducatedpeople”,upeoplewho
knowbetter”,i.e.,whoknowwhatmeanstouseforgivenpurposes,
itwouldnaïvelyidentifytechnocracywithmeritocracy,anditwould
constraintheconceptoftechnologytothatofatoolthatIhave
warnedagainst.
Technocracyisnotepistemocracy;itisnottheruleofeducated
people.Itcannotbethatway,becausetechnocracyisnotatallthe
ruleofpeople.Norisitagovernmentofugods”.Perhapstheseare
thegovernmentsofcyborgs,i.e.,thegovernmentsofautomatedand
autonomoustechnologyitself,whichbecomesakindofunbearable
tyrannyofinhumanrationality.Technocracy–fromthispointof
view–isthefundamentaloppositeofdemocracy,becauseitelim-
inatesthenotionoffortune,fate,orchance,butitalsoeliminates
freedomunderstoodasthemadnessofchoice.Inaword,technocracy
issomethingbetweentheocracyandtyranny.Here,powercomes
fromtheheavens,butnotasamiracle,butasacalltoareport.
Technocracy,aftertheocracy,wouldinherittheapologyofthein-
humanorder,andaftertyranny–indilerencetotheissuesofjus-
tice,awhimofinfantilephilosophers,likeSocrates.God’slawof
