New paper discusses Economic Planning Proposals in the Context of the Rise of Digital Eco-Technocracy

The sociologists Philipp Staab and Christoph Sorg have published a new paper titled “The rise of digital eco- technocracy: Ecological crisis, digital innovation and legitimacy in the adaptive society” in the European Journal of Social Theory. In this paper they also discuss proposals for democratic economic planning (especially technologically driven variants) how they fit into the dynamic they describe. The article can be found here.

Abstract:

This paper examines the convergence of digitalization and ecological sustainability within the framework of “digital eco-technocracy” analyzing its implications for legitimacy. We first elaborate the reasons why we believe that adaptation is increasingly becoming an essential leitmotiv of social integration and transformation. We then argue that the convergence of digital and green has the potential to fundamentally reshape the relationship between politics and society in terms of political legitimacy. In doing so we claim that the
integration of digital and green agendas may transform liberal democracies into adaptive, technocratic systems focused on depoliticizing ecological conflicts via digital technologies. Drawing on critical theory, particularly Claus Offe’s work on technocratic dilemmas, we then propose a “negative dialectic of technocracy,” where efforts to stabilize society through technocratic solutions risk further legitimacy crises, but in doing so further strengthen technocratic trajectories.