International Technocracism – The Emergent Ideology of the 21st Century
IntroductionOver the last decades since the fall of the Soviet Union but seeming to accelerate the most in the decade of the 2010s, there has been the rise of a new ideology among the elites in the Western World. Many see this new ideology as a merely the continuation of older 20th century ideologies like socialism or progressive liberalism; however, it has strong components that systemically reject many of the core values of both those ideological systems. While it does draw ideas from those prior systems, it also has other roots that draw from ideologies not just of what most would consider the left, but also of the right. This emergent ideology I have taken to calling “International Technocracism”, or “Intec” for simplicity, and I will attempt to explain core its beliefs, look at the origins of its various strands of thought, and finally explain how many of the current political pushes regarding everything from gun control to the ongoing pandemic tie back to these core values.
Core Beliefs
International Technocracism is, firstly, not a systemic philosophically ideology like socialism, libertarianism, or classical liberalism; rather, it is an emergent, observational, and pragmatic one. Those who adhere to it hold certain core values about humanity and the world that they believe are derived from scientific and historical observation and seek to govern the world according to those values because they believe it is the best thing for themselves and humanity. These core beliefs come from a different sources but all mesh together to create a systemic view that seeks to govern the world. These core viewpoints are:
War and Genocide are the Greatest Evils
War and genocide are the greatest potential evil that can happen. Thus both are to be avoided at nearly any cost. Peace, as defined as no ongoing military conflicts between nation-states, is a core goal of the Intec ideology and anything that prevents war and ensures peace is morally good. The only time a war may be justified is to prevent a genocide (though if the war could result in greater loss of life and prosperity than the genocide does, it should be avoided), at any other time use of military force in a non-policing manner is highly suspect and likely immoral.
Blank Slate Status of Humanity
Intec beliefs reject any form of biological determinism or influence on what an individual’s identity or interests might be. Rather peoples’ personalities and beliefs are constructed by the intersection of their social conditions (including their race, class, and gender), education, and individual experiences and thus anyone COULD be anything they desire regardless of their biological status.
Radical Individualism
Intec holds that the ultimate authority on what interest and identity for a person is that individual’s own to determine. Definitions and restrictions imposed by those outside of an individual (including by social standards, religion, or other beliefs) are immoral and to be rejected.
Hedonism
The ultimate moral good for individuals within the Intec system is the pursuit of personal pleasure, and that anything that hinders the pursuit of pleasure via interest and identity are immoral and oppressive and thus should be prevented or minimized.
The Non-Harm Principle
Intec does hold there is a limit on the values of Radical Individualism and Hedonism; that is that those are only allowed insofar as they do not cause harm to other individuals. Harm is broadly defined and is not simply limited to physical or economic harm, but also emotional or statistical harm.
Humans Are Hierarchical
Humans, while not having any biological differences, still end up with different capacities due to social conditions, education, and personal decisions; as such, hierarchies develop. Most hierarchies cause harm, because they are based in ideologies that create oppression of the individual, and as such, they need to be destroyed or usurped by people who hold Intec values so that they can be used to properly guide society and enable individuals to pursue pleasure via interests and identity.
Experts Over All
As the majority of people do not have the time, interest, or the will to study how best to order society, they should have only a minimal role in ordering of society. Rather experts who have taken the time and effort to study and learn or have otherwise shown themselves to be experts should be privileged in structuring how society is run and ordered. Further, these experts should be shielded from populist backlash or criticism and should never have to suborn their expert opinions to the opinions of others who are not experts, while non-experts should be closely regulated to ensure their non-expert opinions and actions do not harm other people.
Radical Agnosticism
Intec holds that religion is fine for people to believe in, so long as it does not influence beliefs outside the religious (esoteric) sphere. Religions that hold influence outside that limited, esoteric sphere must be marginalized and persecuted or converted to hold to the expert’s opinions.
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I am working on further parts of this, explaining the history of this ideology as best I can construct and highlighting specific political and policy positions that they hold, but I've been sitting on this essay for far too long, and feel that folks should at least read what I have so far.