SCIENCE BUILT CIVILIZATION

SCIENCE
vs

CHAOS

By Howard Scott
DIRECTOR.
TECHNOCRACY
INC.
SCIENCE MUST SAVE CIVILIZATION

There IS Something New

Under the Sun
TECHNOCRACYnew, startling, fundamental
has invaded the mind of America with unparalleled positiveness and force.
Its original research summary, a simple statement of facts about the critical period through
which we are passing, startled the world.
The
questions it posed still remain unanswered.
Technocracy not only made the American people
fact-conscious, but confronted the entire nation with
the necessity for fundamental social change.
Technocracy's position is based on facts, not
rhetoric. Its message has cut deep. It has reached
more intelligent and functionally important citizens
in all walks of life than any other organization,
and continues to do so.
Technocracy's scientific approach to the social
problem is unique, and its method is completely
new. It speaks the language of science, and recognizes no authority but the facts.
In Technocracy we see science banishing forever
unemployment, hunger and insecurity of income.
In Technocracy we see science replacing an
economy of scarcity with an economy of abundance.
In Technocracy we see functional competence
displacing grotesque and wasteful incompetence,
facts displacing guesswork, order displacing disorder, industrial planning displacing industrial
chaos.
Technocracy is the attempt of science to build a
civilization worthy of the intelligence of Man.
Technocracy concerns itself with the continental
area of America alone. TECHNOCRACY marks a
turning point in American historythe birth of a
greater America. TECHNOCRACY contains all the
elements out of which great movements are made.
Howard Scott, the founder and Director of Technocracy, Inc., presents in the following pages a
diagnosis of the existing disorder and the design
of a New America.
Copyright 1938, Technocracy, Inc.

PRINTED IN CANADA

TECHNOCRACY
SCIENCE VS CHAOS
The following pamphlet r e p r e s e n t s t h e s u b s t a n c e of
a n a d d r e s s given by H o w a r d Scott b e f o r e t h e
National
Technological. Congress and t h e Continental Convention
on Technocracy a t t h e M o r r i s
Hotel, Chicago, Ill. in
J u n e , 1933.
Men Must Live

W H A T constitutes living? There are m a n y and

v a r i e d d e f i n i t i o n s , but, f r o m t h e s t a n d p o i n t of t h e
t e c h n o l o g i s t , living is a t e r m used to d e s c r i b e t h e
f u n c t i o n i n g of a n y o r g a n i s m on t h e a r e a in w h i c h it exists.
Let us view living, t h e n , in t e r m s of f u n c t i o n . All o r g a n i c
mechanisms require food, w a t e r , air, and solar radiation in
s o m e f o r m or o t h e r . T h e y a r e c a p a b l e of m o t i o n , v a r i o u s
metabolic changes, and reproduction. The h u m a n mechanism is d i f f e r e n t i a t e d f u n c t i o n a l l y f r o m all o t h e r s in
t h a t it is t h e only one of t h e e n t i r e series c a p a b l e of prod u c i n g e n e r g y - c o n s u m i n g devices o u t s i d e of its o r g a n i c
e n t i t y . T h e h i s t o r y of t h e h u m a n r a c e m a y well be s t a t e d
in t e r m s of t h e ability of m a n to c o n s u m e e v e r - i n c r e a s i n g
a m o u n t s of e x t r a n e o u s ( n o n - h u m a n ) e n e r g y . T h e limitation a n d s t a b i l i z a t i o n of t h a t r a t e of i n c r e a s e is t h e
s c i e n t i f i c p r o b l e m of t h e n o t f a r d i s t a n t f u t u r e .
T h e h u m a n m e c h a n i s m c o n s u m e s e n e r g y in its processes of osmosis a n d d i f f u s i o n ; w h e n such p r o c e s s e s
h a v e reached a total c o n s u m p t i o n of 7 7 5 , 0 0 0 k i l o g r a m c a l o r i e s p e r kilo of w e i g h t , t h e s e p r o c e s s e s c e a s e a n d
t h e e n s u i n g s t a t e is k n o w n a s d e a t h . T h i s cessation of
osmosis a n d d i f f u s i o n will o c c u r on t h i s c o n s u m p t i o n of
e n e r g y , r e g a r d l e s s of w h e t h e r t h i s c o n s u m p t i o n is a t t a i n ed in f o r t y or e i g h t y y e a r s , a l t h o u g h d e a t h as a r u l e
o c c u r s due to o t h e r r e a s o n s
p r e v i o u s to r e a c h i n g t h e
above critical total e n e r g y c o n s u m p t i o n .
The human
b e i n g r a d i a t e s 912 s m a l l c a l o r i e s p e r s q u a r e m e t e r of
s u r f a c e p e r t w e n t y - f o u r h o u r s , r e g a r d l e s s of size, sex,
a g e or disposition. It is n o t t o b e a s s u m e d h e r e t h a t all
o r g a n i c life h a s t h e s a m e e n e r g y f a c t o r s p e r u n i t of

w e i g h t in time. Cold-blooded animals, such as the snake

or lizard, consume not in excess of 225,000 small calories
per kilo of weight in their f u n c t i o n i n g lifetime.
Rates of Doing W o r k

us consider a f e w comparisons in the r a t e of

LETwork,
i. e., e x p e n d i n g energy.

doing

T h e K h u f u p y r a m i d at Ghizeh h a s 2,300,000 blocks of

stone weighing 5,900,000 t o n s ; it r e q u i r e d t h e labor of
100,000 men several m o n t h s each y e a r f o r t w e n t y y e a r s
to build this p y r a m i d . If J o h n F. W a l l a c e h a d started in
1904 to dig the Big Ditch across t h e I s t h m u s of P a n a m a
at t h e same r a t e of doing work, the j o b would have been
still u n d e r w a y in t h e y e a r 2007, but not with J o h n F.
W a l l a c e or any of t h e others who h a d s t a r t e d it.
Even
assuming
t h a t the knowledge of sanitation had been
developed, u n d e r t h a t r a t e of doing work, t h e problem
would be just as difficult.
T h e Constitution of this country w a s written with a
sickle and a s p a d e . It took ninety-six m a n - h o u r s to s p a d e
an acre of g r o u n d . If t h e r e had been no c h a n g e in t h e
r a t e of doing work, we would still h a v e to live u n d e r the
conditions of t h e Greeks, Egyptians, and Middle Ages.
T h e things around us t o d a y are not possible u n d e r t h a t
f o r m e r rate.
In ancient E g y p t t h e currency w a s w h e a t . In t h e evolution of money, various commodities h a v e been used successively: copper, silver, and gold. T h e y started mining
silver lead ores at Laurion around t h e time of the first
Olympiad in 776 B. C. By 430 B. C. t h e hills of Attica
were denuded of t i m b e r to be used in smelting silver ore.
Mines were worked to d e p t h s as g r e a t as 600 feet. T h e r e
w a s no hoisting m a c h i n e r y , so access to these mines
w a s obtained by m e a n s of ladders. T h e miners carried
t h e ore up out of t h e mines on t h e i r backs. Due to the
f a c t t h a t m a n y of the openings in the mines were too
small to p e r m i t t h e passage of an adult, t h e children of
slaves w e r e used extensively in these mining operations.

A d u l t slaves, chained in g a n g s of ten or twelve, worked in

t h e l a r g e r openings in h a n d extraction of t h e ore deposit.
Similar methods were used in the Seguntheum mines of
ancient Spain. U n d e r these m e t h o d s of h a n d mining, a
definite u p p e r limit w a s soon r e a c h e d , and this r a t e
remained practically constant over long periods of time.
Energy and Physical Equipment

In

the f i f t e e n t h century, in the Saxon mines, t h e introduction of g u n p o w d e r opened up new tunneling methods and went beyond the old methods' limit of the r a t e
of doing work.
Over a long period of social history, f r o m t h e time of
t h e ancients to t h e invention of the steam engine, t h e r a t e
of doing work, or t h e consumption of extraneous energy,
r e m a i n e d practically c o n s t a n t ; i. e., of t h e order of m a g nitude of 2000 kilogram-calories per capita per day.
Modern China and India are c o n t e m p o r a r y examples of
this same r a t e of doing work. W h e n idealists speak of
China today, they say, "If only we could raise the standard of living of those 470 millions of Chinese to t h a t of
our own."
Such idealism is foolish, for, due to t h e enormous
population of China and t h e very limited supplies of coal,
iron ore and other essential mineral products, it is quite
impossible to increase t h e s t a n d a r d of living of t h e Chinese very greatly above t h a t which t h e y now have. It
is interesting to consider the problem of f a m i n e in China.
Aside f r o m a f e w r a i l r o a d s and rivers, almost t h e only
existing means of t r a n s p o r t is t h e coolie. Consequently,
in an a r e a of f a m i n e , even t h o u g h an a b u n d a n c e of food
m i g h t be available a t t h e railroad or river, it would not
be possible by m e a n s of coolies to deliver food to t h e
f a m i n e a r e a at a distance g r e a t e r t h a n seventy-five miles
f r o m such a source of supply. This is due to t h e f a c t t h a t ,
in m a k i n g the trip of seventy-five miles and r e t u r n , a
coolie would require f o r his own sustenance all t h e food
he h a d originally s t a r t e d with.

The ancient agriculturist was t h e person who provided t h e m a j o r i t y of energy f o r the social system of his
t i m e ; in t h e old a g r a r i a n societies a p p r o x i m a t e l y ninetyt h r e e p e r cent of t h e total energy consumed w a s in t h e
f o r m of sustenance. Today seven per cent of t h e energy
consumed in this country is f o r sustenance and ninetyt h r e e p e r cent goes to t h e operation of our physical equipm e n t . T h e whole t e x t u r e of the social f a b r i c is altered.
Technical Processes Alter Rate

d r e d years ago we h a d a population of slightly

ONEoverh u ntwelve
millions. In t h e United States at t h a t
time seventy-five trillion B. T. U.'s of extraneous energy
were consumed per annum. Our population a t t h e last
census was 122 millions, and in 1929 t h e energy consumption f o r this country was a p p r o x i m a t e l y 27,000 trillion
B. T. U.'s. T h u s in 100 y e a r s our population increased
a p p r o x i m a t e l y tenfold, while our total extraneous energy
consumption increased 353 times. This change h a s resulted f r o m t h e introduction of m a n y new technical
processes.
Napoleon introduced tin cans. In 1929 we produced
over twenty-two billion tin containers on this Continent,
and 4,200,000,000 glass containers.
Campbell's Soup
Company is t h e largest consumer of tin cans in t h e world.
In this same y e a r 500 million tin cans were used by this
one company in packing tomato soup alone.
All of these things are evidences of a g r e a t change
in t h e r a t e of doing work. T h a t r a t e h a s been accelerated
in time. In 1896 William Jennings Bryan m a d e his
"Cross of G o l d " speech. A t t h a t time t h e r e were 180,000
miles of American railroads, and almost 900,000 employes. In t h e meantime, t h e r a i l r o a d s in this country
h a v e grown in mileage, r e a c h i n g the peak in 1916 with
254,000 miles. T h e p e a k in employment in American
r a i l r o a d s was r e a c h e d in 1920 with a total of 2,100,000.
Since t h a t time t h e trend in railroad employment has
been, with minor oscillations, continuously d o w n w a r d ;
t h e f i g u r e was 919,000 in March, 1933.

Labor Power Displaced

Thirty y e a r s ago, on t h e R u t h e r f o r d B r a n c h of the

Reading R a i l r o a d , a single f r e i g h t train hauled 1100 tons of
f r e i g h t and required sixteen to t w e n t y - f o u r hours with a
crew of six men to m a k e t h e division run. T h e subsequent development of railroad motive power shows a f a r
d i f f e r e n t picture. In 1928 t h e K - l type of locomotive
was introduced into this division. This engine hauled
7500 tons on t h a t same division in f o u r to six hours with
a crew of five men. The n e t result of this increase in
efficiency is t h a t all of the men who were originally firemen a r e now unemployed, and all of the f i r e m e n ' s jobs
a r e held by ex-locomotive engineers.
On t h e Lehigh, f r o m New York to Buffalo, fast
f r e i g h t t r a i n s used to require two locomotives and a
third was employed f o r express. Now a single K - l t y p e
locomotive h a u l s the f a s t f r e i g h t more quickly t h a n t h e
old express. Consequently a single K - l t y p e with one
crew is doing t h e work f o r m e r l y done by t h r e e locomotives and t w o train crews.
If we h a d t h e entire motive power of t h e A m e r i c a n
railroads modernized to the K - l t y p e or better, we would
require only a very small n u m b e r of the total railroad
employes of 1929 to operate our railroads. W e could
f u r t h e r eliminate overhead if we abolished t h e present
system of f r e i g h t classifications and replaced it by a system similar to the parcel post of t h e United States Government. With such a combination of improved motive
power and classification system, we could o p e r a t e our
railroads on 1929 volume with less t h a n 500,000
employees.
Glass blowers used to be " b o r n " into their occupations,
until t h e engineer came along and devised a machine t h a t
could blow glass. This machine r a p i d l y eliminated t h e
glass-blower and represented t h e state of development
t h e industry h a d attained by 1920. At t h a t time m a n y

people thought the mechanization of industry was at an

end. Then Colburn introduced the technological process
in glass m a n u f a c t u r e , in which glass is no longer blown,
but extruded in one continuous strip. Practically no
human e f f o r t is required. One human being is needed to
watch the control board. God didn't m a k e him good
enough to rival this machine in any other capacity.
The sheet process in steel m a n u f a c t u r e used to be a
hot and arduous one. T h a t is gone. Now the job is quite
clean and the running of a modern sheet steel plant requires the services of twelve men on the control bridge.
Such a mill rolls sheets ninety-six inches wide at a r a t e
as high as 760 feet per minute.
All the h u m a n being
h a s to do is watch the controls and read a magazine.
Scientific Approach
I A M giving you these illustrations for a purpose, because this is an entirely different approach to the social
problem. W e are not investigating or discussing human
antagonisms. W e are, instead, finding out how to do

things functionally. The new method of functioning has

come about not because we have a Price System but because of technology and its consequent production of
change. Prior to the introduction of science and technology social change h a d been only a symptomatic sort,
such as changes in beliefs, morals, ethics, and dynasties.
The w a t e r in a river flows, but, if one looks at the same
river in succeeding years, it, shows in general very little
alteration. This the physicist would call a steady state,
since, although the w a t e r moved, the river shows no
appreciable change. The same comparison may be used
socially. Prior to the introduction of modern science and
technology all social systems show very slight change in
the dynamic sense as to the amount and ways and means
of action, change in the technique of the means whereby
men live.
These past systems, may be said to represent a social steady state.
It is only since and
because of the introduction of technological procedures

t h a t h u m a n social systems
dynamic changes.

are undergoing

extensive

What Is Wealth?

let us consider one of the most a m a z i n g of human

NOWinventions,
wealth.
W e define a Price System to be any social system
whose m e a n s of exchange is based upon the use of one
or more commodities as units of value. Price System
wealth is in turn expressed in terms of the units of value
and is negotiated in the more advanced stages by means
of certificates of debt, gold, silver, or other readily portable commodities, but t o d a y more often mere pieces of
p a p e r . Ultimately, under an advanced Price System, the
only valid wealth is monetary wealth, which in turn consists of certificates of debt. Therefore t h e only way to
create wealth under such a system is by the creation of
debt. Stocks, bonds, etc., are debt claims and must be
paid in interest and principal. Interest provides expansion, allowing the continuous creation of debt.
At this moment t h e r e are in existence in this country
238 billion dollars of debt claims. As long as this Price
System continues, these debt claims will remain valid.
A b r o g a t e these claims and you a b r o g a t e t h e Price System. The one basic rule of procedure under a Price System is t h a t one must create debt claims against others
f a s t e r t h a n debt claims are created by others against him.
If he does not succeed in doing this, he does not remain
in business.
In the physical world, wealth, if one should wish to
use t h e t e r m a t all, would be defined in t e r m s of use, or
t h e r a t e of consumption. T h u s under a Price System the
possession of the bonds of an automobile company would
constitute financial w e a l t h ; whereas, in t h e physical
sense, wealth as regards, say, automobiles would consist
in being able to use them. W e a l t h in this sense consists
not in t h e ownership of a car but in the act of wearing
one out.

Science Now Has Social Objective

HE scientist views all the Price System concepts as nonTsense,

because in the physical world, which incidentally

is the only world we can deal with, t h e r e is no such thing

as value. There are, instead, only qualitative and quantitative analyses and measurements, such as size, weight,
energy content, velocity, t e m p e r a t u r e , chemical composition, etc. These things can be measured and expressed
numerically, but are not m a t t e r s of value. The technologist is blamed to a certain extent because, in his creation
of energy-consuming devices, he has played a mean trick
on the Price System t h a t nurtured him. Today every a l e r t
technologist knows that, w h e r e a s up to the present, in
this country and elsewhere, scientific pursuits have been
to a considerable extent cloistered, sporadic, and without
objective, the concomitant technology has so altered social
conditions as to set up a unidirectional social evolution.
And in so doing technology h a s produced such an a r r a y
of unsolved problems t h a t the scientist, w h e t h e r he likes
it or not, is being forced out of his cloistered seclusion.
Science itself, for the first time, must concern itself with
the problem of a social objective. The technologist created energy-consuming devices which, as a result of cupidity in exploitation, have compelled in turn t h e f u r t h e r
introduction and development of technological procedure.
So, quite unwittingly, you see, t h e technologist has sprung
another trick upon the entrepreneurs. For, if they continue to increase technical devices on this area, t h e r e will
be but one outcome. For this t h e r e is no precedent.
Science and technology have created their own ancestors.
And f o r the first time circumstances will m a k e it possible f o r us to live without t h e entrepreneur.
America Is Unlike Europe

I AM trying to give you a general background. In Russia t h r o u g h o u t 1917by w a y of contrastninety-two

p e r cent of the population lived on t h e land. The conver-

sion of energy per capita on t h a t a r e a was of a low order

of magnitude. Malpatre, in his book, "Coup d ' E t a t , "
points out t h a t a h a n d f u l of men were able to e f f e c t t h e
change, t a k i n g over the power plants, telephone control,
etc., of P e t r o g r a d . A technologist asks how many telephones t h e r e were, f o r instance, in Petrograd in 1917.
The order of magnitude, in terms of the n u m b e r of telephones installed and the number of kilowatts of electric
power, was t h a t of Passaic, New Jersey. The telephones
and kilowatts of electric power of N e w a r k , New Jersey,
at the same time exceeded t h a t of all Russia. The problem was really a small one compared with ours here.
Italy, similarly, has not the resources, land equipment,
etc., for the introduction of Technocracynot in Italy as
an isolated unit, but only as a p a r t of integrated Europe.
Italy h a s sulphur, mercury, and hydro-electric power.
She has no coal, iron,oil,nor most of t h e mineral resources
necessary to industry. Fascism in Italy has consisted in
the consolidation of all the minor r a c k e t s into one m a j o r
monopoly.
Compared with England

Britain,
Great
betterment.

too, has m a n y movements f o r social

G r e a t Britain is changing and is seriously groping in a blind e f f o r t to meet the consequences
of t h a t change. But Great Britain's coal mines operate
a t an output of 0.8 ton per man per day, as compared
with America's average of five tons per m a n p e r day.
While, according to British geologists, only six per cent
of the original reserve of Britain's coal has thus f a r been
removed, t h e y are mining in England shallow coal seams
as thin as thirty inches, and thicker seams at depths as
g r e a t as 3500 feet. The remaining iron ore in G r e a t
Britain is of such low grade t h a t f o r smelting purposes an
equal amount of imported high g r a d e ore must be a d d e d
to the ore produced domestically; t h a t is, fifty-six per
cent foreign beneficiation is necessary.
If coal were mined in Great Britain a t t h e same r a t e per
man as in t h e United States, t h e r e would be a n o t h e r mil-

lion unemployed miners to contend with. Sir George

Paish and I have h a d several discussions about technological p r o c e d u r e in E n g l a n d . T h e British wanted to raise
t h e i r s t a n d a r d of livelihood to t h e American levelwith
t h e same r a t e of production as we h a v e here, by a r e a ,
space, etc. In automotive t r a n s p o r t a t i o n nine million cars
would be required to raise England to our standard. Assuming t h a t existing p l a n t s and s t r u c t u r e s r e m a i n e d t h e same,
t h e r e would not be sufficient room to p a r k this n u m b e r of
vehicles and certainly not enough to o p e r a t e t h e m . You
have t h a t condition in m a n y p a r t s of t h e world. Foreign
t r a d e is f o u n d e d on t h a t t y p e of f a l l a c y . It is not possible
to c h a n g e t h e other countries and to m a k e t h e m like
this one.
Unemployment and Debt Claims

H A T h a s been going on in this country d u r i n g

Wlast
decade?

the

Since 1920 t h e production p e r m a n - h o u r as shown in

69,000 establishments, as compiled in t h e statistics of t h e
U. S. Labor B u r e a u and t h e Industrial Conference Board,
has been rising continually. Since 1930, to May 1 of 1933,
t h e production per m a n - h o u r h a s risen 39.2 per cent.
W h a t is t h e significance of t h i s ? According to f i g u r e s
checked by t h e A l e x a n d e r Hamilton Institute, t h e r e were
17,000,000 unemployed May 1, 1933. A recovery to t h e
1929 level of production of goods and services would result in the full time
r e e m p l o y m e n t of only 5,000,000 of
those now unemployed. All we h a v e to do is to increase
t h a t rate, and Roosevelt and t h e present administration
in t h e National Industrial Recovery Act will step on t h e
gas. T h e National Industrial Recovery Act does some
b e a u t i f u l things. It says to t h e b o n d h o l d e r s t h a t
there
will be a g u a r a n t e e of interest and principal.
It tells
widows and o r p h a n s
t h e y will be cared for. To m a n u f a c t u r e r s it says t h a t profits will be increased, t h e
m a r k e t g u a r a n t e e d , and production levelled o f f .
It is d o u b t f u l if any of these t h i n g s will be accom-

plished, except t h e latter. It is certain t h a t not all of

t h e m will be accomplished, because several of t h e m are
mutually exclusive. If you level off American industry,
t h e r e is no chance to create debt f a s t enough to o p e r a t e
t h e physical equipment. If you can not create debt, you
cannot m a i n t a i n a Price System.
Technology t h r o w s
people out of work. It is wiping t h e bottom out of all
values. If you eliminate t h e possibility of g r o w t h and
t h e r e f o r e can not continue to c r e a t e debt, t h e n t h e interest r a t e a n d r e t u r n on investments will a p p r o a c h zero.
U n d e r such a condition it would be possible, in f a c t probable, t h a t if you did deposit money in a bank, you would
not be able to g e t t h e same a m o u n t out, since t h e b a n k
would h a v e to c h a r g e f o r t h e privilege of depositing.
H o w can we continue to o p e r a t e u n d e r this fallacious
financial setup ?
W h a t W e Have, W h a t W e Might Have

h a n d , t h e operation of this continent

ONf rTo mH Ea other
technological viewpoint h a s t r e m e n d o u s possibilities. On this side of t h e picture T e c h n o c r a c y h a s
m a d e some interesting calculations. If t h e w h e a t Of this
country h a d to be produced with a spade, it would t a k e
5,000,000 men to produce 800,000,000 bushels. If t h e
soil were tilled with t h e best equipment, it would t a k e
less t h a n 5000 men to produce 800,000,000 bushels p e r
annum. Or consider t h e s u b w a y s y s t e m ; t h e total number of people employed in a s u b w a y f a r e collection system is g r e a t e r t h a n t h e total n u m b e r of employees actually o p e r a t i n g t h e mechanical e q u i p m e n t of t h e system,
including t h e p o w e r plant. F r o m a n energy s t a n d p o i n t
it is c h e a p e r to provide f r e e local t r a n s p o r t a t i o n .
This t y p e of calculation requires t h a t we dispense
with a n u m b e r of old habits of t h o u g h t . T a k e t h e m a t t e r
of the kind of income we could a f f o r d to have. W e h a v e
been conditioned to t h e idea t h a t j o b s a r e d i f f e r e n t and
men are d i f f e r e n t and t h e r e f o r e justly receive d i f f e r e n t
compensations. Consider, however, t h e f a c t of t h e enor-

mous expenditure of e f f o r t necessary to keep t h e records

to maintain this differentiation of income a m o n g the
people of this Continent. It becomes technically unsound
to a t t e m p t to d i f f e r e n t i a t e between incomes when t h e r e
is plenty f o r all, because of t h e cumbersomeness and costliness of such practice. W e have arrived at this, not
f r o m any philosophy of right and wrong or h u m a n equality, but f r o m t h e simple technical reason t h a t to do otherwise would cost too much.
How would such a system w o r k ? In all social orders,
until today, men have been penalized to live. Some particular g r o u p h a s a l w a y s discovered t h a t u n d e r the rules
of the g a m e it could gain a d v a n t a g e . M e a n s to prevent
this did not exist. If technologists were o p e r a t i n g this
country, t h e y could not a f f o r d to penalize anyone. The
cost of collecting would be g r e a t e r t h a n t h e a d v a n t a g e
gained and, moreover, this would upset t h e income balance of t h e country.
Energy V s . Money

a technological system, money as we now know

UNDER
it would no longer exist. Debt could not be created.
T h e r e would be a medium of distribution but not one of
debt value or exchange. This medium of distribution
would h a v e to satisfy t h e following conditions:
1. It would designate by functional n u m b e r the
goods or services p u r c h a s e d .
2. It would designate t h e p u r c h a s e r by function
and by sex, and show w h e t h e r t h e p u r c h a s e was
m a d e prior to, during, or a f t e r the f u l f i l l m e n t of
his energy contract (service period with the
Technate).
3. T h e point of origin and point of consumption of
t h e goods or services would be shown numerically.
4. It must be non-exchangeable between individuals
and consequently not susceptible to being lost,
stolen, or bestowed as charity.

5.

It will be valid only f o r the time period f o r which

issued, which period is determined by t h e time
required to m a k e one complete industrial cycle
( f o r the North American Continent this period is
about two y e a r s ) . One's income, being valid only
f o r t h e time period f o r which issued, can not be
saved. It can only be spent or else f o r f e i t e d .
T h e p u r c h a s i n g power of the individual would depend
upon t h e operation of the physical equipment a n d would
be a p r o r a t e d division of the energy
consumed
in t h e given
area
d u r i n g t h e given time period,
a f t e r t h e deduction of t h a t p a r t of the total energy spent
in the construction of plants, etc., and fixed c h a r g e s f o r
such other items as are not directly distributable to individuals. T h u s the income of the individual can be altered
only by a c h a n g e in t h e r a t e of e x p e n d i t u r e of energy
by the social mechanism as a whole.
T h e only w a y f o r an individual u n d e r Technocracy
not to p a r t i c i p a t e in this income would b e :
1. To leave the Continent permanently.
2. To commit suicide.
3. To induce the state to execute him.
Energy Certificates

THESE energy certificates, issued to individuals, would

resemble s o m e w h a t a cross between a t r a v e l e r ' s check
and an o r d i n a r y bank check. They would be similar to a
bank check in t h a t t h e y would r e p r e s e n t no denomination
until a p u r c h a s e of goods or services h a d been m a d e , and
t h e denomination of t h e cost of t h a t p a r t i c u l a r transaction
would t h e n be indicated on t h e certificate s u r r e n d e r e d in
t h e process. They would resemble a t r a v e l e r ' s check in
t h a t t h e y would be issued to a p a r t i c u l a r individual and
would not be valid except as identified by t h a t individual.
Hence t h e y could not be stolen, e x c h a n g e d , or given
a w a y , and would be useless in t h e h a n d s of any other
person.
On this certificate would be a number, according

to a system similar to t h e library cataloging

system,
identifying the person to whom issued by function and
geographical position.
Diagonally would be a color band, one diagonal to
designate a male, t h e other a female. The holder of a
male certificate would not be allowed to purchase f e m a l e
apparel, and vice versa. Thus, one's relations to t h e
opposite sex would depend entirely on personal merits,
because f o r t h e first time it would be impossible to
purchase favors.
The background of this certificate would be one of
three colors. If t h e first, it would signify t h a t the holder
had not yet begun t h e fulfillment of his or her energy
contract for services to the Technate. If a second color, it
would signify t h a t the holder was engaged in the fulfillment of such an energy contract. If a third color, t h a t
would signify t h a t such f u l f i l l m e n t had been completed
and the owner had retired.
The income of the individual would continue
until death.
This income is not to be t h o u g h t of as
in any m a n n e r a p a y m e n t or r e w a r d f o r services done.
True, the individual is expected and required to fulfill a
period of service according to his capacity and ability
during his lifetime, but t h e income is a per capita s h a r e
of the net available energy and is not allotted on a manhour participation basis.
The Four-Hour Day

such a system was beyond the preliminary stages

ONCE
of reconstruction, such a period of service should not

exceed f o u r hours per day, f o u r consecutive days a t a

shift, and 165 days per year. For a period of about
twenty years, say, f r o m t h e ages of twenty-five to fortyfive, this period of service would be known as t h e fulfill-

ment of t h e energy contract. The income received, however, m a d e possible by virtue of our possession of energy
reserves, would be several times t h e present a v e r a g e income in this country, and many times g r e a t e r t h a n any
possible contribution of services by any individual.
Purchasing would be effected by means of surrendering energy certificates properly identified in return f o r
goods and services. The cost of any particular commodity would be determined entirely by the energy consumed
in the process of its production and delivery to t h e point
of consumption. There would be no profits. The entire
physical equipment of this Continent would, of course,
be owned and operated by the Technate.
Every item of
goods or services would, in the functional numeration system
mentioned above, bear its own particular catalog number.
Should an energy certificate be surrendered in payment
for any commodity or service, it would be cancelled by
having punched through its face the functional number
of the item purchased. It would then be pushed through
photo-electric control recording
machines, which deduct f r o m the inventory the item purchased, and simultaneously, from the purchaser's account, the amount of
the item purchased.
Since the system of certificates and accounting used
would be uniform throughout the Continent, all inventories and accounts would be relayed continuously by wire
to central h e a d q u a r t e r s , where in this manner would be
maintained a complete and up-to-the-minute inventory of
the physical operation of the entire Continent as to rates
of production, stocks on hand, and r a t e s of consumption.
The rates of consumption would be ascertained by
sorting the energy certificates cancelled, such sorting to
be done photo-electrically, according to the status of the
purchaser, the geographical division, and the item purchased, providing the maintenance of complete statistical
tabulation, even to minute details, of every significant
physical and social operation.

An Economy of Abundance

operational as well as the sociological implications

THE
and possibilities of such a controlled system a r e astounding. T h e quality of goods to be produced would
no longer be the c h e a p and shoddy variety t u r n e d out at
present. Instead t h e criterion by which goods would be
j u d g e d would be the energy cost per unit of service, and
those goods would be produced which by experimental
test were found to cost the least energy e x p e n d i t u r e per
unit of service.
T h e Technate would not be interested in the expansion of
consumption f o r its own sake, since no profits can accrue..
On the contrary, the need of conserving our r a w materials
would discourage w a s t e f u l practices of all kinds. T h e r e
would be no advertising or salesmanship. As any large
retailer or advertising concern now knows very well, but
f o r such practices the present consumption of goods
would be considerably r e d u c e d . It follows t h a t in a Technocracy, w h e r e a very a m p l e variety and quantity of only
t h e best goods would be available f o r all, the r a t e of consumption, instead of e x p a n d i n g ad infinitum, would probably tend to contract, or a t at least r e a c h a state of
equilibrium at a m o d e r a t e l y simple mode of living.
Improvement Under Science

T h o r s t e i n Veblen,
in " T h e Theory of the Leisure
Class," ably discussed t h e "canons of conspicuous
w a s t e " and the " p e c u n i a r y canons of t a s t e , " as induced
by the existence of a P r i c e System. Once revoked, as
they would be u n d e r a non-Price System of equal income
f o r all, it follows t h a t social rivalry, which seems an
inherent characteristic of the h u m a n species, would have
to find o t h e r means of expressing itself. Consequently, if
one f o u n d it impossible to display one's superiority to the
Joneses by virtue of being able to live more pretentiously,
one would be obliged to find some more substantial manner of self-expression. The chief channel f o r t h a t would

be t h e p e r f o r m a n c e in the social system of a more import a n t or responsible task t h a n t h a t of Jones.

In m a t t e r s of design of equipment practically nothing
would be l e f t u n a f f e c t e d . It goes without saying t h a t the
most efficient and automatic processes t h a t could be devised would be used w h e r e v e r possible. U n d e r such a
control t h e use of automatic m a c h i n e r y would not, as
now, result in t h e evils of unemployment, but instead
would lighten t h e b u r d e n of all by equal amounts. All
industry, all social functions, would be conceived and
o p e r a t e d on a Continental scale.
This again is not a
philosophic premise, but is based on the f a c t t h a t , u n d e r
a high energy system, every individual piece of equipment
is d e p e n d e n t f o r its own operation upon the operation of
t h e system as a whole. Since this is so, it is imperative
t h a t the considerations concerning single units be secondary to the prime consideration of t h e operation of the
complete mechanism.
Industrial Integration

homely illustration m a y suffice to m a k e this clear.

Suppose t h a t a group of designing engineers is assigned the task of designing an automobile. One, shall
we say, is a c a r b u r e t o r e x p e r t ; a second, an ignition exp e r t ; a third, a transmission expert, etc. Now it would
be possible f o r each of these men to focus his attention
on his own p a r t i c u l a r specialty, and c r e a t e t h a t p a r t as a
s e p a r a t e entity with a high d e g r e e of p e r f e c t i o n ; yet the
complete car, while composed of p e r f e c t parts, when
assembled would p e r f o r m very imperfectly. This might
be due, f o r instance, to t h e f a c t t h a t the c a r b u r e t o r w a s
of a c a p a c i t y sufficient f o r a small car, w h e r e a s t h e designer of the chassis called f o r a c a r twice t h a t size, and
other similar t y p e s of misfits.
If, however, the p r o c e d u r e h a d been reversed and it
had been specified t h a t the c a r should c a r r y a given number of passengers, should p e r f o r m at a given speed with
a gasoline consumption of a certain n u m b e r of miles per

gallon, t h e n in o r d e r to meet these specifications, t h e

s e p a r a t e p a r t s m a y vary in p a t t e r n only within strict limitations. In o t h e r words, it is not possible by h a p h a z a r d
integration of p e r f e c t p a r t s to achieve a p e r f e c t e d whole.
Conversely, h o w e v e r , if the p e r f o r m a n c e of t h e whole is
specified, t h e limitations of t h e p a r t s a r e a u t o m a t i c a l l y
determined.
T h e whole, in t h e case u n d e r consideration, is of
course t h e entire social mechanism. T h e specifications
a r e t h a t it shall p e r f o r m in such a m a n n e r as to provide
economic security with equal income f r o m birth until
d e a t h , a t a high e n e r g y s t a n d a r d of living, to each and
every m e m b e r t h e r e o f , a t t h e lowest necessary expendit u r e of h u m a n e f f o r t and n o n - r e c u r r e n t n a t u r a l resources.
T h e f u l f i l l m e n t of these specifications a u t o m a t i c a l l y
a f f e c t s every f u n c t i o n a l sequence within t h a t social mechanism. As a convenient illustration on this g r e a t e r scale,
we m a y consider t h e problem of housing 150,000,000
people, at a minimum s t a n d a r d of housing p e r person.
Scientific Housing

T H I S is not a problem in a r c h i t e c t u r e . It is a problem

of construction and m a i n t e n a n c e of buildings. It involves a consideration of materials. Materials must be
chosen of which t h e r e a r e a m p l e quantities, eliminating
f r o m serious consideration the so-called metal houses
t a l k e d of by some of the m o d e r n architects. It d e m a n d s
material much more d u r a b l e t h a n used in houses of t o d a y .
Since a house is an o p e r a t i n g mechanism, and t h e r e f o r e
an energy-consuming device, in o r d e r to keep t h e e n e r g y
cost at a minimum, insulation must be c a r e f u l l y considered. This and m a n y more conditions a r e implied as a
consequence of the r e q u i r e m e n t t h a t housing 150,000,000
people shall, w h e n o p e r a t e d as a whole, fall within given
o p e r a t i n g specifications.
A t t a c k i n g t h e problem of housing in the converse
sense, as h a s been c u s t o m a r y and is still t h e basis of most
of our c u r r e n t architecture, it m a y be r e m a r k e d t h a t

t h e r e is no design or composite of designs in existence, in

t h e past or present of a r c h i t e c t u r e , a d e q u a t e to m e e t t h e
above r e q u i r e m e n t s . Architecture, as it is now practiced,
occupies exactly t h e s a m e role with r e g a r d to the problem
of housing as did t h e various e x p e r t s in t h e case of t h e
automobile mentioned above. W h e n housing is viewed
as a problem of construction, operation and m a i n t e n a n c e
at a minimum s t a n d a r d f o r 150,000,000 people, architect u r e as it is now constituted, essentially individualistic
and anarchic, will cease to exist.
Exactly t h e same line of reasoning applies to every
necessary f u n c t i o n a l sequence f r o m a g r i c u l t u r e to e d u c a tion, communication, or public h e a l t h .
Era of Peace and Plenty

I H A V E a t t e m p t e d to point out s o m e t h i n g of the evolution and t h e r a t e of acceleration in t h e immediate p a s t

in the t e c h n i q u e in t h e m e a n s w h e r e b y we live. I h a v e
indicated t h a t , due to t h e introduction of technological
procedures, which a r e totally without historic p r e c e d e n t ,
we a r e witnessing t h e initiation of a social c h a n g e which
is unidirectional and irreversible. I h a v e shown t h a t , due
to these technological processes, u n d e r a P r i c e System une m p l o y m e n t h a s resulted and will continue to i n c r e a s e ;
t h a t the g r o w t h curves of industry d u r i n g the f i f t y y e a r s
f r o m 1870 to 1920 were e x p a n d i n g at a compound interest rate, t h a t t h e y h a v e been f l a t t e n i n g out, and t h a t this
process s t a r t e d prior to 1920. This is evidence of industrial g r o w t h m a t u r a t i o n . As a consequence unemployment will be even more highly a c c e l e r a t e d , and t h e interest r a t e will tend to a p p r o a c h zero, due to the inability
to create f u r t h e r debt. T h e total consequence of these
simultaneous t r e n d s will be an u n p r e c e d e n t e d social impasse as long as o p e r a t i o n is continued in accordance with
t h e rules of t h e g a m e of a P r i c e System.
On the o t h e r h a n d , I have pointed out t h a t , with t h e
g r e a t e s t a r r a y of productive e q u i p m e n t on t h e e a r t h ' s
s u r f a c e , with t h e lion's s h a r e of t h e e a r t h ' s n a t u r a l re-

sources, and with the largest technically t r a i n e d and

functionally c o m p e t e n t personnel in existence, this Continent s t a n d s r e a d y to move f r o m an economy of scarcity
and poverty into an e r a of peace and plenty.
It's An Engineering Job

I H A V E indicated a f e w of the details of w h a t such a

system would be like. I h a v e not inquired as to
w h e t h e r you do or do not like t h e idea. T h e events t h a t
a r e going to occur in this a r e a within t h e very n e a r f u t u r e
a r e not going to be r e s p e c t e r s of h u m a n likes or dislikes.
T h e problem of o p e r a t i n g any existing complex of industrial e q u i p m e n t is not and can not be solved by a democratic social o r g a n i z a t i o n . T h e executive of t h e telephone c o m p a n y is not consulted as to w h e t h e r he likes
t h e design of t h e telephone, nor is t h e general public.
With f e w exceptions, you know n o t h i n g a t all a b o u t a
t e l e p h o n e except, t h a t by following a certain routine,
someone a n s w e r s at t h e other end of t h e line. T h a t is all
you need and, f o r t h e most p a r t , all t h a t you w a n t to
know.
T h e problem of o p e r a t i n g the entire industrial equipment of this Continent is a technical problem so f a r t r a n s scending any o t h e r technical problem man h a s yet solved
t h a t m a n y individuals would p r o b a b l y never u n d e r s t a n d
w h y most of the details m u s t be one w a y and not a n o t h e r ;
but t h e services of everyone, in t h e highest capacity at
which he can p e r f o r m , would be n e e d e d .
F o r t u n a t e l y , it h a s been d e m o n s t r a t e d t h a t , once t h e
basic necessities of economic security h a v e been achieved
at a not u n c o m f o r t a b l e e x p e n d i t u r e of personal e f f o r t on
our p a r t , we are so constituted physiologically t h a t , by a
r a p i d process of h a b i t u a t i o n , we find and pronounce such
circumstances to be good.

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No political party is capable

of instituting a planned
economy of abundance on
the North American
continent
If you think so, investigate
the facts uncovered by
Technocracy, Inc.

Functional Control Is Imperative