Engineering as a political activity

Because the practice of engineering authoritatively reshapes the world, it deserves to be seen as a public and political activity. If technology is a form of legislation, are engineers the legislators or do they occupy some other political role? Because engineering in the 20th century has served some social interests much better than others, might those who have been disadvantaged reasonably construe engineers as their political opponents? What constraints face engineers individually and collectively in attempting to reconsider and retarget beliefs and actions bearing on their work as technological decision makers?