Evening star., 1932-12-28

Limited disclosures of the beliefs that
| are based on research conducted under
the Classification of "technocracy' have
aroused much discussion, but current
comment indicates a public purpose to
challenge the accuracy Of the reported
conclusions. The thought that machine
production creates a condition of un-
affect millions OF persons is received
with skeptictsm, and the present inci-
nation is to demand proof Of the conclu-
Sions.
1T is improbable that the techno-
Gratis are either all right or all wrong
says the Akron Beacon Journal, favor
ing serious examination of the evi-
dence" and acceptance of everything
Of value that they offer. whether it
proves to be much or little The
Lincoln State Journal believes that
some who have read little about it
may have wondered what it is, and
many who have read much are still a
bit befogged by all that has been said
and written That paper points to a
desire to control economics, with tech
nologists determining Just what it is
best to do
IdI paper OllClS eA4oe
possibly technology can be explained
bit more clearly, but the experts SO
far do not seem to have had mucn
success in the effort"
The detailed statistic-l demonstra-
ton, the one thing that has fastened
the public attention" according to the
New York Herald Tribune, is yet to
be published" That paper holds that
"the disjointed figures given out are
scientifically meaningless in them
selves" and offers the description:
1T is not the dry bones Of chronological
unemployment, it is not the stony de-
tails of the stoppages in our financial
machinery or the failures of the dis
tributive system which awake all this
passion of interest. 1t is the sudden
promise of certainty. 1t is the an
nouncement that all things are to be
made plain, that science has spoken
and revealed the economic kingdom
of heaven into which we are inevitably
to be translated. 1t is the fact of the
revelation, rather than the character
of the kingdom, which counts. The
revelation, Of course. Is cast to accord
with the times. Earlier ages put their
faith in oracles and took their reve-
lationS from prophets. The one thing
our own age seems absolutely to believe
in is the infallibility of statistics and
the irrefutable validity Of science. The
name 'technocratS' is stroke of genius
in itself; it reminds one instantly Of the
eighteenth century 'physiocrats,' who,
in a time in some respects similar to
our own, proclaimed revealed truth"
The word "technocracy" is empha-
sized by the Baltimore Sun, because
it has served to bring to public atten-
ton in striking way, "a set OF ideas
which a very considerable group Of
economists has long been trying in vain
to get before the public in conventional
economic terninology." The Sun con-
tinues: $50 long as as the discussion
was limited to archaeological unemploy-
ment,' there was no flaming discussion
of the issues involved. But when the
central ideas and their implications
were unfolded under the aegis Of tech
nocracy, a vogue was caused by some
genius in label making" The Birni-
ingham Age-Herald quotes a state
ment that many men have lost their
jobs to machines, for machines can
do their work far more cheaply and efh-
GENTLY" and continues: 1T has been
estimated by a competent authority
that If we could go back to the pro-
duction status Of the golden twenties
we would have on our hands an un-
employed population of 100000 to
5000, 600. That means that the mech
anization of industry has brought us
q permanent problem and 1t Is just
this porteutous thing that the tech