Are we turning in a technocracy? It appears that this entire debate about global warming is self-regulated by the %26quot;top minds%26quot; also being in control of policy change. For example here in New Zealand the government is effectively regulated by a group of so-called top scientists who judge when and what changes are required to combat this %26quot;global warming crisis%26quot;.
Obesity is another prime example of the technocrats controlling what kids can and can%26#039;t eat and what rules schools must enforce to combat the obesity %26quot;epidemic%26quot;.

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1 week ago

turning into*

1 week ago

Fair points Phil, in some policies I agree science should be used but when the science is disputed how can it be legitimately used to justify current policy? All it appears to do is self-validate and self-regulate the policy insofar as the science must be right because the policy was enacted and similarly the policy must be justifiable because it is backed by %26quot;science%26quot;

1 week ago

I agree slaps, governments are here to provide security for their populations as well as economic well-being.
Beyond that we turn into a %26quot;nanny state%26quot;

1 week ago

That%26#039;s all well and good phil except if this is really a man-made problem then it encompasses all nations doesn%26#039;t it.
What about Africa? They don%26#039;t have the money to fund projects for alternative fuel sources and fossil fuels remains the most cost-efficient source of energy for them at the moment.
Should we imperialise them too?
There are alot of problems to solve before we can even begin actually %26quot;doing something%26quot;. At the moment policy is largely focussing on individuals who actually need large vehicles as part of everyday life. But every little bit...
http://journals.royalsociety.org/content...
http://www.dvgu.ru/meteo/library/3076000...
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/ab...
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/ab...

And we have already attributed many changes to climate change:
http://pubs.giss.nasa.gov/docs/2008/2008...
http://magmo.typepad.com/VitousekHumanDo...
http://www.fishclimate.ca/pdf/Extinction...
http://people.ucsc.edu/~zavaleta/biodive...
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/79076...

But there is still plenty of work to be done:
http://climate.envsci.rutgers.edu/pdf/St...
http://www.impact-malaria.com/FR/EPS/For...

You don%26#039;t see the scientists that publish these articles advancing policy -- you see politicians advancing policy. We need to make sure that we use scientific knowledge to make informed policy decisions that won%26#039;t collapse our economy (I think this can be done). Doing nothing will not help anything (see changes to biological and agricultural systems in link above, plus increased energy costs, pollution, health risks, etc.). Our science is improving and continued research is essential so we can make the very best decisions.

We could go off to do battle with technocracy, and go right into any other form of authoritarian society if we are not alert to the characteristics of an authoritarian mindset. What technocracy represents is the authority figure that the authoritarian follower is ardently seeking.

I would say that technology has been a useful tool in promoting authoritarianism, because lots of people believe scientists must always be right.

I dont care if kids are obese or if the earth gets warmer. It is irrelevant to good government. Set the people free, and let the chips fall where they may.