technocrat

noun

tech·no·crat ˈtek-nə-ˌkrat

Synonyms of technocrat next

: an adherent of technocracy

: a technical expert

especially : one exercising managerial authority

Did you know?

In 1919 W. H. Smyth coined the term technocracy to mean basically "management of society by technical experts". Technocracy grew into a movement during the Great Depression of the 1930s, when politicians and financial institutions were being blamed for the economic disaster, and fans of technocracy claimed that letting technical experts manage the country would be a great improvement. (They also suggested that dollars could be replaced by "energy certificates" representing energy units called ergs.) Today technocrat and technocratic are still popular words for experts with a highly rational and scientific approach to public policy issues. But these experts aren't always the best politicians, and when a terrific technological solution to a problem is opposed by a powerful group or industry, lawmakers find it easier to just ignore it.

Examples of technocrat in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web By the time Covid hit Mexico, Ms. Sheinbaum had eked out some space to govern her own way, empowering technocrats over party loyalists and investing in the police to fight crime, instead of relying on the military like Mr. López Obrador. —

Natalie Kitroeff, New York Times, 30 May 2024 Google used to be considered a left-wing darling, especially among the technocrats staffing the Obama administration. —

Nate Anderson, Ars Technica, 6 Aug. 2024 But some have raised the idea of local, unaffiliated Palestinian leaders or technocrats taking charge instead of Hamas or the PA. —

Daniel Byman, Foreign Affairs, 30 July 2024 During the current war, Hamas officials have said the group does not want to return to ruling Gaza and advocates forming a government of technocrats to be agreed upon by the various Palestinian factions. —

Jack Jeffery, Tia Goldenberg, and Huizhong Wu, The Christian Science Monitor, 23 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for technocrat

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'technocrat.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.