Invention and the Rise of Technocapitalism

by Suarez-Villa, Luis

• ISBN13: 9780742502055
• ISBN10: 0742502058
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-09-26
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Summary

Explores the infrastructure that supports invention as well as the relationship of technicapitalism with science, corporate business, and government. Includes 40 line drawings and 29 tables.

Author Biography

Luis Suarez-Villa is professor of social ecology at the University of California, Irvine

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables	vii
Preface	xi
The Intangible Wealth of Nations	1	(40)
The Challenge of a New Era	3	(5)
Defining Invention	8	(3)
Creativity, Education, and Diffusion	11	(13)
Massification and Educational Quality	12	(5)
Can Diffusion Reproduce Creativity?	17	(7)
Invention as a Socioeconomic Resource	24	(8)
Technological Leadership and Invention	26	(6)
Summary	32	(9)
The Emergence of Technocapitalism	41	(70)
The Rise of Continuous Discovery	42	(23)
Paradigm Shifts and Continuous Discovery	45	(7)
Are Temporal Lags Declining?	52	(13)
The Corporatization of Invention	65	(14)
Can There Be a Free Market for Invention?	70	(9)
The Role of the State	79	(16)
Can Government Target Invention?	89	(6)
Summary	95	(16)
A Century of Invention	111	(50)
Invention and Patenting	112	(7)
Are Patents Good Indicators of Invention?	112	(7)
Accumulation during Industrial Capitalism	119	(17)
Industrial Capitalism and Invention	120	(5)
Late Industrial Capitalism	125	(4)
Invention and Innovative Capacity	129	(7)
Invention, Sourcing, and Technocapital	136	(16)
Is a New Geography of Invention Emerging?	137	(11)
Venture Capital as Technocapital	148	(4)
Summary	152	(9)
The Cycles of Invention	161	(26)
Cyclical Structure and Accumulation	162	(11)
Cyclical Patterns during the Twentieth Century	163	(6)
Corporate Invention and Cyclical Accumulation	169	(4)
Cyclical Patterns of Sourcing	173	(8)
Are There Cycles in the Geography of Invention?	174	(7)
Summary	181	(6)
The Infrastructure of Invention	187	(40)
The Role of Infrastructure	188	(13)
Static and Dynamic Functions	189	(5)
The Platform	194	(2)
Is There a Role for the Public Sector?	196	(5)
Infrastructure and Accumulation	201	(13)
Infrastructure during the Twentieth Century	201	(8)
Infrastructure and Innovative Capacity	209	(5)
Infrastructure and the New Geography of Invention	214	(7)
Summary	221	(6)
The Technocapitalist Dynamic	227	(20)
The Elements of Change	227	(7)
Microfacets	228	(4)
The Macrostructure of Change	232	(2)
The Structural Dynamic	234	(9)
A Perspective on Long-Term Change	234	(2)
Cyclical Interaction and Accumulation	236	(7)
Summary	243	(4)
Conclusions	247	(5)
Index	252	(13)
About the Author	265