What does technocracy mean?
Technocracy is a form of organization or government in which people with specialized scientific, technical, or administrative expertise make the key decisions. Unlike democracy, which locates authority in the people collectively, technocracy locates it in experts judged to possess relevant knowledge. In modern debate, the term often carries a critical edge: it can suggest that apparently neutral technical solutions are being imposed while meaningful political choices are narrowed or avoided. The word can nevertheless be used neutrally to describe systems designed around expertise, including highly technical institutions and corporations. Technocracy is therefore useful when discussing the distribution of power, the role of experts in public policy, and the tension between competence and democratic accountability. It should not be confused with bureaucracy, which concerns administration through offices, rules, and established procedures rather than rule by technical experts specifically.
nounA system of government or organization in which people with specialized scientific, technical, or administrative expertise hold decision-making power. The term can also refer more broadly to a society characterized by rule by such experts.
- A system of government or organization in which people with specialized scientific, technical, or administrative expertise hold decision-making power.
- A society or community characterized by the dominance of technical experts and methods in public or organizational decision-making.
"As calls for expert-led policy grew, critics warned that technocracy was steadily displacing democratic decision-making."
"As calls for expert-led policy grew, critics warned that technocracy was steadily displacing democratic decision-making."
"The corporation operated as a technocracy, with specialists controlling major strategic decisions."
The standard plural is used when referring to multiple systems ruled or controlled by experts.
"The author compares technocracies that promote evidence-based policy with those that concentrate power in unelected specialist groups."
When technocracy rules, expertise becomes power—and someone still has to decide who counts as an expert.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does technocracy come from?
Technocracy combines the Greek tekhnē, “craft, skill, art,” with -cracy, a learned formation from Greek -kratia, “power, rule.” The compound was formed in English in the early twentieth century as a political term, modeled on democracy and related words ending in -cracy. Technocrat and technology belong to the same broad etymological family through the shared Greek root tekhnē.
Related word forms
How technocracy is actually used
Technocracy is a formal and primarily political term. It may be neutral when describing rule by qualified experts, but it is often critical, suggesting that technical authority has displaced broader democratic participation or political judgment.
Easily confused with technocracy
A technocracy is ruled or controlled by experts whose specialized knowledge guides major decisions, whereas a bureaucracy is characterized by hierarchical administration, fixed procedures, and government offices.