Technocracy
Topic: Democracy: Forms of Government, Principles and Outcomes · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Technocracy is rule by unelected experts, such as economists or engineers, who are chosen for their skill and not elected by the people. Their claim to power is their knowledge, not votes. It sits outside democracy because citizens do not choose these rulers directly and cannot easily remove them. It is not part of the Indian constitutional scheme. It still matters because it raises a real question: who should decide, experts or the people's representatives?
Example
Italy was run by a government under Mario Monti from 2011 to 2013. It was made up mainly of experts and not party politicians, and it was formed to handle an economic crisis.
Don't confuse with
- Oligarchy: rule by a small group of wealthy or powerful families. Technocrats rule because of their expertise, not their wealth or family.
- Plutocracy: rule by the wealthy. Money is the source of power, not skill.
Related concepts
- Absolute monarchy
- Constitutional monarchy
- Dictatorship
- Totalitarianism
- Authoritarianism
- Oligarchy
- Plutocracy