In the Name of Reason: Technocrats and Politics in Chile

7. Technocracy in Chile:Past, Present, and Future

7 Technocracy in Chile: Past, Present, and Future In this final chapter I summarize the main features of the technocratic phenomenon in Chile on the basis of the long-term historical analysis and theoretical reflections provided in the previous chapters. I will particularly focus on the continuities as well as the changes that can be observed in the political role played by Chilean technocrats since the 1920s, putting emphasis on the most recent period. Drawing conclusions from past and current experiences I will also refer to possible scenarios that the Chilean technocrats might face in the years to come. The chapter is organized in three sections. In the first I elaborate further on the close relationship existing between the middle class and the technocratic phenomenon in Chile and highlight some important sociopolitical factors that for a long time made possible their mutual identification. The second deals with the ever problematic relation existing between technocrats and political parties, including their relations with the president and the political class at large. This section concludes with a brief analysis of the current competition between political parties and think tanks in their efforts to influence the government. The final section discusses the technocrats’ insulation, relative autonomy, and embedded autonomy vis-à-vis other social and political actors in Chile. I particularly emphasize their traditional function as a buffer zone between progressive and conservative forces in Chile, contributing by this to the achievement of political stability in the country. As it has been technocracy in chile 219 shown in the previous chapter, however, in recent years their relative autonomy has become severely questioned by some political forces and representatives from civil society organizations, which demand more participation in the decision-making process. Technocrats and the Middle Class: A Marriage for Life? One of the central arguments developed in this book is that both the origin and further development of the technocratic phenomenon in Chile during most of the twentieth century have been intimately related to the emergence and further ascendancy of the middle class. As this study has shown, technocratic ideas came into the country with French positivism and were soon incorporated in the thought and writing of influential Chilean thinkers and important representatives of the middle class like Lastarria and Letelier. They defended ideas such as the need to establish a government based on merit, to break with traditional cultural patterns, to make science instead of religion the main guide for state affairs, to expand education, and to strengthen citizenship . These ideas were identical to the main claims and aspirations of the emerging Chilean urban middle class in the second part of the nineteenth century. These demands were also central in the battle by Chilean liberals against the oligarchic rule. They aimed to put an end to the legacy of the old colonial order, the dominance of aristocratic families, and the suffocating presence of the Catholic Church in all facets of public life. At the center of the struggle of the Chilean middle class for social emancipation was a demand for access to higher education as a way to social advancement. For this reason, the Universidad de Chile attracted the young Lastarria, Letelier, and many others who were eager to demonstrate their talents and well disposed to lead the cultural and ideological struggle against oligarchic mediocrity. This specific historical context helps us understand why in Chile technocratic positivism initially had a rather libertarian and antioligarchic character. Other important vehicles for spreading technocratic ideas among middle-class circles have been the Radical Party and the Freemasons , who were intimately connected with liberal and radical scholars within the academic structures. In Letelier, as was the case for many others, all these institutions were embodied in a single individual. When in the early decades of the twentieth century the oligarchic order 220 in the name of reason came to an end, a visible change took place in the position adopted by technocratically oriented groups vis-à-vis the state. In the early years they saw the state as the main bastion of the conservative forces and, hence, an entity to be profoundly distrusted. After the turn of the century, however, the state came to be increasingly regarded by reform-oriented representatives of the middle class as a formidable institution from which a series of radical changes could be introduced in Chilean society. The expansion of the state also implied a...