No.9: System comparison: Theocracy vs Electric Technocracy
- Mike Miller
- Jun 6
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 7
“Theocracy – Sacred Dogmas as Political Shackles in Contrast to Electronic Technocracy”
I. Definition and Nature of Theocracy
The term theocracy (Greek: theós = god, kratein = to rule) describes a form of government in which religious authorities hold political power and divine revelations or religious scriptures are considered the highest source of law.
Unlike secular systems of governance, there is no separation between religion and state in a theocracy—they merge into a single, untouchable authority.
Forms of Theocracy:
Direct Theocracy: The ruler is also the religious leader (e.g., the Pope in the Papal States).
Indirect Theocracy: Secular leaders are controlled by religious institutions (e.g., Guardian Council in Iran).
II. Systemic Weaknesses – Why Theocracies Are Dysfunctional for the 21st Century
A. Intolerance and Repression
Theocracies are based on religious absolutism. What is once declared divine becomes non-negotiable. This leads to:
Persecution of dissenters: Not only atheistic or secular movements, but also intra-religious differences (e.g., Sunnis vs. Shiites) are brutally suppressed.
Forced conversion: Conversion through pressure or violence (e.g., in the Islamic State).
Blasphemy laws: Critics are persecuted or executed (e.g., Pakistan, Saudi Arabia).
B. Anti-Science Tendencies
Discoveries that contradict dogma are suppressed or branded heretical.
Progress in medicine, biology, gender studies, or astronomy is blocked—e.g., by creationism or contraception taboos.
Theocracies tend to fossilize worldviews at a pre-industrial level.
C. Gender Inequality and Discrimination
Women are systematically disadvantaged: no right to education, dress codes, legal inferiority.
Homosexuals, transgender people, and other minorities are disenfranchised or even face death threats.
Personal freedom is replaced by moral-religious control—even in the most intimate areas of life.
III. Historical and Current Examples – Terror in the Name of God
1. Islamic Republic of Iran (since 1979)
Guardian Council controls candidates, laws, and media—the people may vote formally, but only within religious limits.
Mandatory veiling, gender apartheid, executions of converts.
Persecution of Baháʼís, Christians, homosexuals, and critics—sometimes through public executions.
Suppression of protests: In 2022, hundreds of demonstrators were killed, many executed.
2. Taliban Regime in Afghanistan (1996–2001 & since 2021)
Education ban for girls, closure of schools and universities.
Public executions, flogging, stoning.
Ban on music, sports, and art—totalitarian cultural annihilation.
Women's rights reduced to zero, religious police as constant threat.
3. Catholic Church in the Middle Ages (e.g., Inquisition)
Witch burnings, crusades, torture in the name of faith.
Censorship of scientific works (e.g., Galileo), index of forbidden books.
Repression of reform movements and persecution of heretics (Cathars, Jan Hus, etc.).
IV. Theocracy – Structural Denial of the Future
Problem Area | Consequence |
Dogmatic Rigidity | Prevents innovation and adaptation. |
Moral-Religious Totalitarianism | Controls thought, behavior, clothing, art. |
Inequality | Women, queers, and dissenters are systematically oppressed. |
Law based on divine myth instead of rational discourse | No space for critique, development, or compromise. |
Theocracy confuses morality with power and replaces reason with mystical authority. It is therefore incompatible with modern science, open societies, and global justice.
V. Electronic Technocracy as a Secular and Just Future
The Electronic Technocracy:
systematically separates faith and administration, allows personal spirituality but no religious control.
bases legislation solely on logic, science, and consensus.
protects minority rights, recognizes diversity as strength, not a threat.
enables collective intelligence instead of individualized revelation-based power.
With the help of digital systems, transparent, verifiable, and modifiable structures can be established—something theocracies, by definition, cannot provide.
VI. Conclusion: Theocracy – A Grasp into the Past Instead of a Step into the Future
Theocracies may have had a role in early human history when myths and fear dominated worldviews. But today it's clear: they are an anachronism, a regression into pre-modern conditions.
In a world where artificial intelligence can solve complex problems, divine-right rule as a political model is not only outdated—but dangerous.
VII. Invitation to a Secular Future Dialogue
Electronic Technocracy invites all worldviews to participate in discourse—but none may dictate to the others. Belief—yes. Rule—no.
Help build a world where no one is persecuted—neither for their beliefs nor their criticism of them. A world in which fairness, knowledge, and cooperation are the foundations—not myths, dogmas, and blind obedience.
Wikipedia Links
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PoliticalWiki: Electric Technocracy
Elektrische Technokratie Podcast & Song
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