technocracy

American  

[tek-nok-ruh-see] / tɛkˈnɒk rə si /

noun

• technocracies
  plural

1. a theory and movement, prominent about 1932, advocating control of industrial resources, reform of financial institutions, and reorganization of the social system, based on the findings of technologists and engineers.

2. a system of government in which this theory is applied.

3. any application of this theory.

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technocracy British  

/ ˈtɛknəˌkræt, tɛkˈnɒkrəsɪ /

noun

1. a theory or system of society according to which government is controlled by scientists, engineers, and other experts

2. a body of such experts

3. a state considered to be governed or organized according to these principles

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technocracy ¹ Cultural  

1. The control of government and society by people with technical skills, especially engineers.

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technocracy ² Cultural  

1. A type of society marked by the dominant role of people with specialized technical skills, particularly engineers.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• technocrat
  noun
• technocratic
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• technocracies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of technocracy

First recorded in 1919; techno- + -cracy

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

technocracy technocracies

Even before Labour's law change, the then-director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Paul Johnson, argued that we should be "highly cautious" about moving towards what he described as a "more powerful fiscal technocracy".

From BBC ● Nov. 24, 2025

Not that we need much of a reminder, but we are presently backsliding into the future in a way that makes the technocracy Scott introduced in 1979 more plausible than ever.

From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2025

Much of Muskism is descended from the technocracy movement that flourished in North America in the 1930s and that had as a leader Mr. Musk’s grandfather Joshua N. Haldeman, an ardent anti-communist.

From New York Times ● Nov. 4, 2021

This combination of ideology and technocracy is what has made the business school into such an effective, and dangerous, institution.

From The Guardian ● Apr. 27, 2018

Tomorrow's technocracy will produce more and more things for better living.

From The Penal Cluster by Randall Garrett

This has resulted in a number of half-baked supremacists within the tech industry who advocate either for authoritarian technocracies or, more bizarrely, monarchy.

From Salon ● Apr. 13, 2019