Are we turning in a technocracy?

Question

That's all well and good phil except if this is really a man-made problem then it encompasses all nations doesn't it.

What about Africa? They don't have the money to fund projects for alternative fuel sources and fossil fuels remains the most cost-efficient source of energy for them at the moment.

Should we imperialise them too?

There are alot of problems to solve before we can even begin actually "doing something". At the moment policy is largely focussing on individuals who actually need large vehicles as part of everyday life. But every little bit...

Answer 1

I would say that technology has been a useful tool in promoting authoritarianism, because lots of people believe scientists must always be right.

I dont care if kids are obese or if the earth gets warmer.  It is irrelevant to good government. Set the people free, and let the chips fall where they may.

Answer 2

One role of scientists is to educate policy makers so they can make informed decisions.  In other words, science should be used in policy decisions.  That's how societies advances -- technological and scientific breakthroughs.  I would argue that some politicians are using science to advance effect polices and others are not.  But I would not say we are in a technocracy.

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The science is pretty strong that humans are, at least, partially responsible for current climate changes:

http://www.cgd.ucar.edu/ccr/publications...

http://journals.royalsociety.org/content...

http://www.dvgu.ru/meteo/library/3076000...

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/ab...

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/ab...

And we have already attributed many changes to climate change:

http://pubs.giss.nasa.gov/docs/2008/2008...

http://magmo.typepad.com/VitousekHumanDo...

http://www.fishclimate.ca/pdf/Extinction...

http://people.ucsc.edu/~zavaleta/biodive...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/79076...

But there is still plenty of work to be done:

http://climate.envsci.rutgers.edu/pdf/St...

http://www.impact-malaria.com/FR/EPS/For...

You don't see the scientists that publish these articles advancing policy -- you see politicians advancing policy.  We need to make sure that we use scientific knowledge to make informed policy decisions that won't collapse our economy (I think this can be done).  Doing nothing will not help anything (see changes to biological and agricultural systems in link above, plus increased energy costs, pollution, health risks, etc.).  Our science is improving and continued research is essential so we can make the very best decisions.

Answer 3

Momentarily,  perhaps so.

But a technocracy is just an example of an authoritarian society.

This book gives us a peek at what authoritarian society is driven by:

http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~altemey/

We could go off to do battle with technocracy, and go right into any other form of authoritarian society if we are not alert to the characteristics of an authoritarian mindset. What technocracy represents is the authority figure that the authoritarian follower is ardently seeking.