A 1930s North American movement led by Howard Scott, descended from the 1919 Technical Alliance, proposing energy accounting and energy certificates in place of prices in an engineer-run Technate. Never adopted; Technocracy Inc. persists as a small organisation.
Howard Scott and other scientists and engineers formed the Technical Alliance in 1919 to survey the potential of the North American economy. Technocracy Inc. was incorporated in New York in 1933 as a non-profit to promote the design and to provide a skeleton organisation for a 'Technate of North America' should the price system collapse. Its 1938 pamphlet describes energy certificates: every adult over 25 would receive an equal share of net energy, those under 25 a maintenance allowance; certificates are individual, non-transferable, non-cumulative and expire. Scott argued that operating industrial equipment cannot be solved by a democratic social organization. The movement was banned in Canada in 1940–1943, and a 1970 study found no discernible social-political effect. No pilot exists. Objection: technical administrators lack electoral accountability.
No Technate or pilot was established. Technocracy Inc. continued into the 21st century as a small organisation; its energy-accounting scheme has never been tested at scale.
Howard Scott and fellow engineers formed the Technical Alliance in 1919; Technocracy was incorporated in New York in 1933 as a non-profit to promote its theory and provide a skeleton organisation for a 'Technate of North America' should the price system collapse.[1]
Technocracy's energy certificate would give every adult over 25 an equal share of net energy and younger people a maintenance allowance; it is issued to individuals, non-transferable, non-negotiable, non-cumulative, and loses validity after a set period.[1]
Scott wrote in 1933 that operating a complex of industrial equipment cannot be solved by a democratic social organization.[1]
A 1970 study found the movement had no discernible social-political effects on the wider society. University of Alberta archivists describe it as continuing into the early 21st century, and Technocracy Inc.'s official site was still online in 2026.[1][2][3]