The Capitalism to Technocracy Pipeline
- zakchester
- Feb 18
- 8 min read
Updated: Mar 17
Technology has become deeply ingrained in modern systems of power and governance, shaping the way societies function at every level. In many ways, we find ourselves increasingly dependent on the very technologies we create. While technology is designed to serve humanity, its integration into our daily lives and institutions raises important questions: At what point does our reliance on technology shift from being a tool for progress to a force that dictates the direction of society? More specifically, how does the control of this technology by a select few influence governance and policy?
In this blog post, I will examine how capitalism, by its very nature, creates an environment where technological expertise and innovation become dominant forces in governance. By looking at examples from the Trump presidency and his connections to influential figures in the tech industry, I will explore how economic and technological power increasingly intersect. This growing influence has led some to speculate about the emergence of a technocracy—where decision-making is guided more by technological and financial elites than by traditional democratic processes.
So, What is a ‘Technocracy’?
A technocracy is defined as "the government or control of society or industry by an elite of technical experts." In practice, this means that individuals with significant technological and financial resources can gain substantial influence over policy and governance. With the rise of tech billionaires, such as Elon Musk and other prominent industry leaders, we see how economic power can translate into political leverage.
The intersection of capitalism and technology naturally creates an environment where those who control the most advanced and profitable industries also hold significant sway over decision-making. This is evident in the growing influence of tech entrepreneurs and executives who fund political campaigns, advise policymakers, and in some cases, shape public policy through their platforms and companies. Groups such as the so-called "PayPal Mafia," a network of early PayPal employees who have gone on to dominate various sectors of the tech industry, illustrate how technological expertise and economic success can lead to outsized influence.
A key example of this trend is the support and influence of various tech figures in government decision-making. During the Trump administration, key players in the tech industry, from social media executives to AI researchers, became more intertwined with policy discussions. While this influence does not necessarily signal a formal technocracy, it does raise questions about the role of unelected individuals in shaping governance. As technology continues to drive economic growth and innovation, it is possible that we will see an increasing number of industry leaders seeking direct political roles in the future.
In summary, a technocracy is a system in which those with technological expertise and resources wield significant power over societal decisions. While this could, in theory, lead to positive advancements if guided by ethical leadership, the concentration of such power among a small group raises concerns about accountability, democratic representation, and the broader implications for society.
How the Capitalist Model Rewards Technology Advances (Consumer goods, market failure)
Modern economies are becoming increasingly tied to consumer goods. For example, Games Workshop, the creators of popular tabletop game ‘Warhammer: 40k’, becoming a billion-dollar company over covid. In the time of a global pandemic, people spent more on consumer goods than necessities like food. This is largely due to stipends from the government, but it should give you an idea as to what people spend money on when they have an excess of disposable income. In the past when consumer goods were nowhere near advanced and necessities to live were far scarcer, the consumer goods industries were less important. Nowadays we have streamlined the process of procuring sustenance to a degree that we no longer must toil in fields or hunt game all day to survive. Therefore, the time we would spend on simply trying to survive is for the most part split between working and engaging in consumerism. And what drives consumer goods? Technological advancements. Think about the development of the entertainment industry. From handwritten scriptures to the printing press, to the mass proliferation of digital media. Technology is intrinsically tied to the capitalist economy through consumer goods. Without constantly innovating, constantly creating new consumer products the market will become saturated. It is the death of capitalism when market failure ensues. Without constant technological innovation, the market would be a monopoly of the few organisations offering altered versions of the same product. We see this in the pseudo-monopoly banking companies Visa and Master Card (or Maestro) have in their industry. A market that lacks innovation becomes stagnant and monopolised. If a monopoly exists, capitalism fails to produce the capital necessary to support itself, as the best way to procure profit is industry competition. Technology is the perfect remedy to market stagnation.
So, we’ve established that Capitalism needs technological innovation to survive.
So, what does this entail? It means that tech becomes the most profitable industry. The industry most important to the system of power will be clearly favoured, as seen with Trumps funding of Elon Musk’s various projects during his first presidency, essentially bailing Tesla out of bankruptcy. And in a capitalist society, who is most important? Well, it’s in the name, the actor with the most capital. From this line of inquiry, its not a reach to say that having the most capital necessarily translates to an increase of power within the system. This is how a capitalist system turns into a technocracy. Tech becomes a booming industry, these tech CEO’s fund governmental bodies and thereby gain influence over them. We then enter an era where whoever controls the technology controls the most profit and therefore has the most influence over the average persons life. Among other things, this has been caused by the rise in demand for consumer goods.
Modern Technology and the AI Revolution
The way technology has shaped society is manifold, however once technology becomes commonplace, we tend to accept it as an integral and natural part of the human experience. In reality, technology is the furthest thing from natural. We’ve seen it with the internet, then smartphones and we will continue to see it with AI. The main difference being that initially, the internet provided humans with more freedoms than they had previously, even if it has been policed extensively as influential figures and bodies have gained an understanding of it. This is not the same for AI. From the outset, to train a machine learning model, the main requirement is billions of dollars’ worth of data. The internet made this possible, with everyone who uses the internet’s personal data being stored and sold. This results in not a democratisation of technology, like with the internet, but a hierarchy of those who have the capital to create advanced machine learning systems and neural networks such as Large Language Models (LLM’s), and those who use and consume this technology.
The essence of a technocracy is preserved in the way AI is produced and marketed. The more AI becomes common place in society, the further control technocrats have. They are the ones who produce AI surveillance systems, AI assisted ballistic missiles and could potentially become the cornerstones of future societies reliant on technology to function. If governmental bodies become reliant on these billion-dollar systems to further their own agendas, it is easy to imagine that the corporations creating these systems would have more influence over matrices of power. The more ingrained in our society technology with such a large barrier to entry becomes, the more control those that create the technology have. Such integral technology becoming proliferated by the top 1% of corporations is how technocracies form. Not to mention the vast amounts of data these AI companies now own to train their systems, having scraped the entire internet. I would guess they have enough data to effectively profile every individual who uses the internet frequently. Whoever controls the information, controls the world.
Technology and the Military Industrial Complex
Speaking of profit, as it turns out, war is profitable. Who would’ve thought an act that is so synonymous with destruction is actually one of the biggest engines for economic growth, for the victor of course. War creates industry, arms and otherwise, it creates jobs, it drives innovation. All to the end of destroying an enemy. Not to mention the spoils of victory. In modern times, namely resources such as oil. I won’t delve too deep into how the military industrial complex operates. That is a herculean task that I am not qualified enough to do justice. However, I can tell you, that war relies on technology. Firstly, war is only profitable if you don’t lose (notice how I didn’t say ‘win’, because if you can sustain it, nowadays long, drawn out wars keeps the military industrial complex churning for longer). The best way to not lose is to have more guns and bigger missiles. Manufacturing and manpower are important, yes, but if you don’t innovate technologically, it’s like bringing a knife to a gun fight. Secondly, in order to effectively profit from the military industrial complex, what you are producing needs to be constantly improving to build industry. Like I mentioned earlier, markets stagnate when there I no innovation. For the war machine to keep churning profit, private weapons industry contractors must keep improving to diversify manufacturing. It wouldn’t be profitable if Smith and Wesson were the only weapons manufacturers. This second point is less important than the first but is still an aspect none the less.
So, where do technocracies fit into all of this? If war is not only profitable, but also if you engage in it, you are taking a massive risk, you are reliant on advances in weapons technology. In fact, your very existence as a wartime state and its survival hinges on who has the access to the more sophisticated weaponry. In a capitalist society, driven by profit, it is a no brainer to engage with the military industrial complex. This means the R&D departments at private weapons manufacturers become key. As I have repeated, the more reliant on a private technology institution the government is, the risk of technocracies developing there is not zero.
Decline into technofascism (Conclusion)
Technofascism can be defined as a system of governance; “Where political rights are only gained by technical expertise. Technofascism is a concept introduced by Janis Mimura to describe an authoritarian rule executed by technocrats.” I would like to keep this section brief, as I would rather deal with the verifiable present and past than pontificating about a potential future. However, I also believe when talking about the potential implications of a technocracy, it is important to understand its logical conclusion. In the past, fascist governments were formed based on a hierarchy of aspects such as a perceived genetic ‘purity’ and birthright. Technofascism is the same, except the hierarchy is established by who has the most technical expertise. In a society that rewards profit, the tech industry acts as somewhat of a pseudo peak of the hierarchy. The richest man in the world is a tech billionaire. These unelected billionaires occupy positions of power, in some cases more influential than elected heads of state. In many ways it is impossible for the average person to bridge the technological gap between us and the uber wealthy. The rich get access to cutting edge technology that we don’t see benefits from until years later. They can use said technology to further increase the wealth technology gap between us, and so the cycle continues. It could be argued that we live in a technofascist society veiled as late-stage capitalism. In an attempt to avoid repeating myself, I will leave the rest to your imagination.
Disclaimer: AI was used to assist in the creation of this post
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