Technocracy as the Ideology

Abstract

The study examines the position of a man and society in the philosophy of technology and technocracy development that were connected with the technological progress in Europe and North America in the 19th century. The issue of relations within the “man – machine” system has become a great interest among sociologists, historians, psychologists and philosophers. The study is based on methods of analysis and synthesis of scientific writings from Plato to F. Dessauer, who referred to the important role of science and technology in the society development. The technology increasing impact on people’s lives was reflected in the emergence of technocratic concepts. They reflected the vision of technological evolution modern problems and a vision of its future development. The cornerstone of the technocracy concepts was the idea of political power transition to the technocrats’ social layer. However, during the 20th century, technocrats’ categories like scientific and technological intelligentsia, plants and factories heads, scientists and engineers did not constitute a unified political power. They were invited to discuss the economic development problems, as experts, where they were adapted to the existing political regimes rather than trying to modify them. The technocratic strata of population transformation, their political views and preferences, the impact on the socio-political situation in the country had become the main topics in the respective philosophical concepts. Thus, one important issue is man’s status in a technological society, which in turn is a relevant topic for study in the 21 st century, the century of technology. Keywords: philosophy of technology, “man – machine” system, technocracy, scientific and technological progress, political power