Where Polanyi is more relevant than ever: social justice and technical productivity in scientific knowledge production

Official URL: https://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781003336747-33

Polanyi did not write much about science and technology. Nevertheless, we argue that when his scattered yet insightful remarks about them are read in light of his liberal socialist vision and critique of the self-regulating market economy utopia, they become quite relevant to understanding the post-1980 regime of commercialized science and science-driven technologies in knowledge economies today. Focusing on the case of the USA, we describe the nature of this regime and how it came about. We then discuss some of the existing alternatives to it and draw attention to their limitations. Finally, we argue that not only does the ideal of open technoscience support the values of voluntary enterprise and free cooperation that Polanyi championed, but it also furthers his two economic concerns of social justice and technical productivity simultaneously.