Engineers are not all-powerful, but neither are they just a pawn. They are one of the links in the chain that can help fix the world.
The modern era
Engineers descend from their pedestal to guide the world
According to expert Étienne Dejonghe, engineers underwent three status changes during the 20th century. Prior to 1914, knowledge was synonymous with power, which explains why engineers were considered to be the era's “great vassals”. As time went on, engineers were likened to “officers” as they controlled and organised the hierarchical relationships of power, which lasted until the 1950s. From that moment on, engineers began specialising in a number of different fields. As such, they started playing a less central role in the company and were simply considered to be part of the company's “executives”. Not only did engineers' duties become more and more formalised, but also increasingly mainstream, as they were required to follow a growing number of management meetings, procedures and formalities, thereby taking them further away from technical practice and bringing them closer to the realms of management.
The engineering profession had been knocked from its pedestal to become an ordinary discipline like any other, with engineers even occasionally made out to be scapegoats as the world entered the 21st century. Technical innovation was no longer always seen to be a sign of progress, industrial capitalism had shown its limitations, and climate change was prompting technology to reconsider its place in society.
Slowly but surely, people began waking up to the fact that our world was not invulnerable. That realisation broadened the engineer's duties and gave them a key role to play in addressing the many issues associated with sustainable development. Engineers are not all-powerful, but neither are they just a pawn. They are one of the links in the chain that can help fix the world. Sustainable urban development, energy storage, new forms of mobility, population ageing, waste management… engineers are gradually becoming a vital part of the solution when looking to help all people live together peacefully. Engineering schools are seeing an increase in the number of student associations engaging with climate issues, partnerships with environmental think tanks and initiatives in aid of society. In ancient times, engineers expressed their wish to play a role within the city, and more than 5,000 years later, those aspirations are finally coming true.