Wats a technocrat? (1 Viewer)

[evette13]

HEy ppl
doin albert Speer question and i really have no idea wat a technocrat is
Is it like someone who is more worried about getting the job done than what the impact on other ppl is??

 

[raeraerae]

technocrat

eveeettteeeeee a technocrat is somebody who is like COMPLETELY obessessed with efficency and things like that to the point where they put people's welfare behind achieving efficent results.

 

[Logain]

www.wordweb.info

This is the handiest program ever, a dictionary that appears whenever you press CTRL+ALT+W.

Noun: Technocrat
1. An expert who is a member of a highly skilled elite group
2. An advocate of technocracy

Noun: Technocracy
1. A form of government in which scientists and technical experts are in control

 

[nwatts]

Think of technology.

en.wikipedia.org

 

[fleepbasding]

In the context of Albert Speer and Nazi Germany, the term is most often used to account for his wilful ignorance of the holocaust or 'final solution'. It is argued by some, including himself, that his role in the regime was purely as a highly skilled expert, without any real ideological attitude or role in influencing Nazi racial policy. This view is widely accepted and many people look upon Speer in a favorable light compared to more grotesque elements of the Nazi hierarchy like Himmler. Such was his efficiency and skill that a few historians credit him with prolonging the war for an extra 2 (or 3?) years with his schemes as minister for arms and armanents.

I would by no means call the Nazi regime a "technocracy", rather it was often inneficient with many leaders (like Goring with his 4-year plan) having next to no expertise in the areas over which they had authority- Speer was the exception, not the rule.

 

[Logain]

Yeah, I'm a bit drained from reading that whole thread about whether Hitler was a goodie or a baddie, but that's the general gist of it. It would apt describing Speer as a technocrat but that doesn't really encompass the other members of the party so no, describing the Nazi regime as a technocracy would be pretty far from accurate.

 

[sunjet]

It was polycratic and Speer was not a technocrat

 

[mr_brightside]

note Speer was an amoral technocrat at that...

 

[Sarah168]

this might be an interesting thread a little related to this discussion

http://community.boredofstudies.org/showthread.php?t=29883&

 

[fleepbasding]

It was polycratic and Speer was not a technocrat

polycracy is a political structure involving many bases of power and structuralist historians argue that the Nazi regime was this. However polycracy and technocracy are terms we use to describe different features of a government- the first is in reference to the distribtion of power and authority and the second is to the sort of people (experts in this case) who are in those positions of power. Therefore, their is no reason why Nazi Germany couldn't have been both a polycracy and a technocracy (theoretically).

Either way, I'm not saying that the Nazi regime was a technocracy, as I stated earlier. But because you believe the Nazi regime was a polycracy (debatable in itself), doesn't mean that Speer wasn't a technocrat (which is also debatable!).

Mr brightside- definitely... is that part of the definition of technocrat though? I think it's implicit that if your technocrat doesn't have ideological motives then neither does he have a system of morality.

 

[mcs]

Speer imo can not be called a technocrat- his book is a load of trash when you read through some of the Wolters chronicles stuff- shows he knew a lot more then he said he did! And then in Sereeny (I think thats how you spell it) books there is a picture of Speer at a Concentration Camp!!! No as much as he wants to claim he was only a technocrat and didnt know nothing, its just utter bull!

 

[Bronny_Mac]

Hmm,
My teacher told us a technocrat is someone who has political power wihtout being a politician.
For example. Speer was a technocrat as even though he said "Political events did not concern me" his architecture still made political statements.
He was an expert at his job as minister for armaments, not becasue he was a brilliant politician, but because his skills of organisation and time management carried over.

tech·no·crat (tĕk'nə-krăt')
n.
An adherent or a proponent of technocracy.
A technical expert, especially one in a managerial or administrative position.

He wasnt a windows XP expert, but the second definition.

So basically by saying he's a technocrat he had political power as a result o his skills, not his will to be in control.

or that seems to be what I, and my teacher think