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Do the needs of society drive science and technology, or do the developments in science and technology become the driving force of history? Has this relationship changed over time? Knowledge as a commons Places science, technology, and the emergence of the modern state within a larger historical framework.
Capital, whose sole purpose is profit, claims ownership of human knowledge and its products, encircling them with patents and intellectual property rights. Western neoliberal institutions and policymakers have created an artificial system in which limited resources, such as groundwater and clean air, are used as if they were infinite, while resources that are not depleted even when used, namely knowledge, are used as if they were infinite. We introduced a worldwide system to make it rare.
privatization of knowledge
Prabir Purkayastha traces the historical path to the privatization of knowledge. He examines the impact of this privatization on universities, health care, distributive justice, domestic politics in developing countries, and the prospects for developing countries vis-à-vis the West.
He begins with the question, “Are science and technology really the same?” Mr. Prabir flatly answers, “No.” So how are they different? The essence of the difference between the two lies in their purpose. Science examines how nature works. It can be said to be objective, fair, and rational. However, technology is a social issue because its purpose is to develop social movements towards “economic equality and social justice.”
However, as Purkayastha shows, none of these objectives have been achieved in today’s neoliberal context, which has never been seriously concerned with the needs of society as a whole, but rather with a focus on managing society. He was concerned only with the interests of the people. Like everything in capitalist society, science and technology are imprinted with social relations that underpin the ability of the productive forces to grow and develop society as a whole. Science has never transcended the boundaries of class relations, and never will. Technology has always been a tool for increasing economic productivity under the guise of creating a more just society.
The COVID-19 pandemic and its negative impact on workers around the world, particularly in the Global South, is the most recent and severe example of the dictatorship of the capitalist class that governs large parts of the world. With millions of people dying every day around the world for months, the U.S. government’s policy decision was to allow them to die rather than provide the technology needed to keep them alive. I put it down.
Purkayastha takes the reader on a journey with descriptions of developments in technology and science. He proved that science and technology are not “independent” from society as a whole. They are not divorced from the fundamental contradictions of society. Rather, reflecting its contradictions, it has developed in a way that does not respond to the needs of the people, but rather gives more and more benefits to the ruling class. Why else would their political representatives just blink an eye or nod their head and allow the deaths of scores of the world’s poorest people?
Not only have for-profit companies withheld COVID-19 treatment from people of color around the world, so-called “non-profit” foundations have done the same. For example, the Gates Foundation is his second-largest contributor to the World Health Organization’s budget. Convincing the Jenner Institute at the University of Oxford to grant exclusive patents on the COVID-19 vaccine they developed to AstraZeneca, giving all companies a much-needed vaccine. Bill Gates persuaded him not to release the patent to the public so he could have a chance. public.
Purkayastha cites Derek de Sola’s book, The Difference Between Science and Technology, which challenges the current definitions of science and technology created by both modern scientists and engineers.”, International Edison Birthday Celebration Lecture, 1968 “…Of course, more astute people have observed that there seems to be an essential difference between science and technology: the former is general, easily transferred, supranational and In other words, the development of technology is regulated by the market, with the spoils going to the highest bidder. Just ask Pfizer.
science for profit
“Pfizer’s 2021 revenue It was $81.3 billion Approximately twice In 2020, sales were strong for the pneumonia vaccine, the anti-cancer drug Ibrance, and the off-patent fibromyalgia treatment Lyrica.
Currently, the company’s mRNA vaccines account for 70% of the US and European markets. The antiviral drug Paxlobid is the perfect pill to treat the early symptoms of coronavirus infection. This year, the company is expected to earn more than $50 billion worldwide from just these two drugs. ” (arthur allenKFF Health News)
In the chapter “Technological Dynamics and Self-Reliance”, Purkayastha considers the differences between developed and underdeveloped economies and explains that one of their important characteristics is the level of scientific and technological knowledge. For example, the Netherlands is a developed country, while Saudi Arabia has a similar GDP, but not as much as the Netherlands, which produces some of the most advanced chip-making machinery in the world. At the same time, Saudi Arabia only exports hydrocarbons and needs to import advanced equipment to facilitate those exports. This is not the result of a choice by the countries of the Global South, but rather something imposed on the development of the Global South as a whole by the US-led bloc. In addition to this technological development, it needs to be integrated into the production process and the country itself needs to own the intellectual property. Too many countries do not have ownership of their productive forces.
In fact, many multinational companies have entered into agreements with these less developed countries to obtain cheaper manufacturing capacity. However, your intellectual property will be preserved. Without breaking its dependence on Western monopolies over intellectual property, the Global South will continue to struggle to advance its societies in all aspects.
India is one of the best examples of this theory. After gaining independence from Great Britain, it enacted trade protections for its own markets. Despite its flaws, this economic policy enabled India to develop its economy and produce a variety of goods and services for its own market. However, protected markets tended to import technology rather than develop it indigenously, and this became the norm in India.
Neoliberalism has eliminated anything like public knowledge and independent ownership of intellectual property. India is slowly but surely privatizing its excellent university system, leaving fewer and fewer people, especially indigenous minorities, with access to higher education. This is happening across the Global South.
Moreover, although the research itself is carried out by many public institutions, i.e. state-funded institutions, the type of scientific research carried out is determined by private capital. Once intellectual property is developed, it is handed over to private interests, who decide how it is used. Again, I’ll use Pfizer as a great example. Unfortunately, examples like this abound in every industry.
Purkayastha ends his book with a discussion of India’s Free Science Movement, of which he is a founding member. Like many of his colleagues, he has dedicated his life to fighting for free and independent science and technology for the people. As I write this review, Purkayastha does not have the freedom to continue fighting against the tyranny of capital in all sections of society. He was arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in early October 2023 for supporting the farmers’ movement and is sitting in jail.
This book is an excellent example of how Marxist science has been applied to the history of science and technology through the ages, especially under capitalism. This is a beautifully written and well organized book. Anyone interested in the importance of these two important issues should read this book and learn how we, the people, can make a difference in our lives and in the people of the world. is recommended. I would also like you to read it as a protest against the criminals of the Indian government led by Narendra Modi. The attack on science and scientists must be stopped and Purkayastha released.
Knowledge as a commons: Towards inclusive science and technologyPrabir Purkayastha, Leftward.
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