Energy accounting

Energy Accounting is the hypothetical system of distribution, proposed by the Technocracy movement, which would record the Energy used to produce and distribute goods and services consumed by citizens in a Technocracy, or Technate as the movement calls it. The units of this accounting system would be known as Energy Credits, Energy Certificates, or simply Energy Units. Energy accounting would replace money in a Technate, but unlike traditional money or currencies, energy units could not be saved or earned, only distributed evenly among a populace. Energy credits or certificates would probably not have to be physically used by the populace themselves, as the system would be computerised. In this proposal, the Technate would use information of Natural resources, industrial capacity and citizen’s purchasing habits to determine how much of any good or service was being consumed by the populace, so that it could match production with consumption. It is this balance between production and consumption that is represented by the Technocrats' chosen symbol, the Monad. The amount of energy each citizen would have would be equal to what they spend, thus they never have to worry about running out or budgeting, the only constraining factor being the Technate’s resource base and Technological level. The reason for the use of energy accounting, according to Technocrats, is that it would ensure the highest possible standard of living, as well as equality, among the Technate’s citizenry.

Proclaimed Benefits

Under the Energy Accounting system, a car, for example, would be valued by the energy it takes to create the product (energy to run and supply the factory, plus the energy to transport all materials and the final product). In this way, ecological costs are accounted for, since energy is the main non-renewable resource consumed by humans. Any manufacturing system which produces a car using less energy, would be cheaper in price and cost less energy. In this way, quality and efficiency are maximized through careful review of their toll on the total reserve of energy available to the population.

Another example of why technocrats support the energy accounting system is that they say it eliminates social problems, which are caused by the current Price system. Since the productive capacity of the technate is equally available, technocrats state that things such as theft, gender inequality, and even racial hierarchies would be greatly discouraged.

Since technology is continuously evolving, there is much debate on what method would be used to record and measure expenditure of energy among the populace. In any case, the Technate would have to use technology to eliminate security risks and make the process seamless.

Opposition

The primary arguments against energy accounting are briefly listed here and explained below:

• The money incentive is lost; people will not work
• There is no structure to the society, and people need hierarchies
• It creates too much equality

Opponents of technocracy argue that a money-less system of energy accounting is too communist in origin, and that people need hierarchies and unequal distributions of wealth because some people are more apt than others. Technocrats argue that their system allows hierarchies and positions of higher responsibility and accountability on a meritocratic basis, and that if a corrupt person enters a position of authority they will be thrown out, because of their lack of competence or technical skills required for that position. An example technocrats give is that of a scientist. If the scientist accomplishes a great feat, he would become well known and gain fame, thus more accountability, and, most likely, an increase in opportunities and responsibilities. Whereas, if they achieve nothing or are incompetent, this would be obvious and they would lose their position. An opponent of technocracy might respond to this by arguing that such meritocratic responses are not unique to technocracy, and that market forces accomplish much the same function in a capitalistic society. To this, Technocrats respond by pointing out that the existence of money and political power in these systems allows people who are skillful at manipulation to circumvent more objective means of determining merit.

Technocrats would agree that, economically, every person would be equal. In this way, they share some communist-like ideals, but technocrats argue that communism and capitalism are both systems evolved from scarcity, and that mankind has never attempted to implement a system based on abundance. And in this way the Technocratic system would not be susceptible to the failings of Communism. An opponent of technocracy might counter-argue that Technocracy's premise about scarcity and abundance are incorrect and a Technate would be similar to a Communist state, with all its failings.

The primary argument against a system that is used to distribute an abundance is that there will always be scarcity. While technocrats argue that technology can eliminate scarcity, opponents see it as a far-fetched dream at the present time. Technocrats argue that while we can never produce more than people can own, since they can effectively own an unlimited amount of things, modern technology can produce more consumable goods and services (such as food, clothing, transportation, communications, etc.) than human beings are able to physically consume, and this is what defines the ability to deal with scarcity. There is, after all, only so much food a person can eat, so long they can travel in a day, etc.

A secondary argument that technocrats use against the money incentive is human nature. They argue that there are internal (initiative) and external (incentive) forces that act on a person. They state that initiative is often stifled in scarcity systems, requiring greater emphasis on external incentives, whereas in a Technate, personal initiative would not only be allowed to flourish like never before, thanks to the environment of abundance, but would also be encouraged as well. Things like the free software movement and the Wikipedia project are prime examples of people's internal desires motivating behavior, despite external incentives not to.

See also

• Technocracy movement
• Technate
• Energy Survey of North America
• Artificial scarcity
• Post scarcity
• Abundance (economics)
• Technocratic views of the Price system
• Technocracy Study Course

External links

• Energy Distribution Booklet
• The Energy Certificate Adapted from an article by Harold Fezer, Technocracy Magazine, July 1937
• Technocracy Inc. Archives Multiple articles and essays, many concerning Energy Accounting
• Technological Continental Design (PDF)