# Howard Scott American self-styled engineer (April 1, 1890 – January 1, 1970) who founded the [[Technocracy]] movement and ran [[Technocracy Incorporated]] as its "chief engineer" from 1933 until his death. He was the man who turned [[Scientific Management]]'s faith in engineers into a program for abolishing politicians, prices and money. ## Career - **1919–1921: Technical Alliance.** Founds a group of engineers and economists in New York to survey North American industry. [[Thorstein Veblen]] is associated with it; the Mises Institute calls Veblen Scott's mentor. It dissolves in 1921. - **1931–1933: The Columbia energy survey.** Scott runs an "Energy Survey of North America" out of Columbia University with industrial engineer Walter Rautenstrauch. Newspaper coverage in 1932 turns "technocracy" into a national craze in the depths of the [[Great Depression]]. - **January 13, 1933: The Hotel Pierre speech.** A national radio address from New York meant to cash in on the craze. It is widely panned, and the backlash against Scott and the movement peaks soon after. - **1933: Technocracy Incorporated.** After the original committee splinters, Scott co-founds Technocracy Inc. with geophysicist M. King Hubbert (later the father of peak-oil theory). Scott is chief engineer and Hubbert secretary. ## The credentials problem The movement's leader was not the "distinguished engineer" he presented as. Scott claimed a European education. Wikipedia reports he had completed only the ninth grade. American Heritage describes "little formal education" and a wartime project review that found "gross waste, inefficiency, and shoddy workmanship." The prophet of rule by technical expertise was himself an unverified expert. That is the paradox at the movement's center. ## The program Replace the price system with **energy certificates**. Measure the continent's total energy output, divide it equally among adult citizens, and make the certificates expire at the end of each period so no one can save or accumulate. Abolish elected politicians and businessmen, and hand governance to a "Technate" of engineers covering North America. Detail in [[Technocracy Incorporated]]. ## See Also - [[Technocracy Incorporated]] · [[Technocracy]] - [[Scientific Management]] · [[Frederick Winslow Taylor]] · [[Thorstein Veblen]] - [[Joshua Haldeman]] · [[Elon Musk]]