As Greece struggles with its massive debt and rampant unemployment, some are calling
for the return of technocrat leaders to Athens.
These kinds of leaders, who have backgrounds in economics and finance, may hold the key
to saving the Greek economy.
So what exactly is a technocrat, or a technocracy?
Well, technocrats, in the general sense, are “technical experts” who hold political
office.
They differ from regular politicians because they have more specialized expertise in non-political
fields.
Usually these academic professionals function as advisors.
But in a technocracy, they themselves rule.
They are often elected for their specific skills that compliment whatever crisis a nation
is going through.
Technocracies are heavily associated with communist governments, although the political
philosophy was also briefly popular in the US, during the Depression Era.
In the Soviet Union, beginning in the 1930s, many engineering experts were promoted into
political leadership, creating what might have been the first technocratic government.
Today, there are no TRULY functioning technocracies.
China, however, is sometimes called a technocracy because their leading political party is an
elite group of experts from many fields.
For example, China’s current president obtained degrees in Chemical Engineering and Law before
entering the political sphere.
And his predecessor, Hu Jintao, was originally a Hydraulics engineer, who moved up the ranks
within the Ministry of Water Conservancy and Power before entering politics.
Technocrats tend to have the most success in the short term.
In 2011, Italy and Greece elected new Prime Ministers who had specific expertise in economics
and finance.
They made the hard decisions and budget cuts that were necessary at the time.
But since those decisions were unpopular, the Greek and Italian technocrats were ousted
once their terms were up.
In theory, technocracy works because technical experts can use their knowledge to address
a direct problem without getting bogged down in politics.
However, according to analysts, many technocrats lack real-world insight into the lives of
the general population.
Additionally, by not playing into politics, technocrats lose out on political favors and
a broader understanding of a complicated situation.
As a result, the actual IMPLEMENTATION of their rules and regulations may not take into
account issues outside of a technocrats field.
Therefore, career politicians who have long been involved in the mainstream political
sphere tend to have more rounded success in long term leadership.
Technocracies have often been associated with Communism.
To find out more about Communism, check out one of our most popular videos here!
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