ABSTRACT
In this last chapter a number of concluding arguments are put forward with respect to the need to broaden the policy debate beyond the narrow economic ‘material welfare’ perspective on science and technology. In the previous chapter we highlighted the need for a substantial reassessment of the role of science and technology in relation to long-term sustainability and welfare. In this chapter we focus on the broader social integration issues of science and technology. In the first section we briefly review some of the traditional economic misconceptions of technology, including its measurement. In the second part the analysis is broadened to focus on the endogenous nature of technological change. Finally, in the last section some fundamental problems of ‘constructive’ technology assessment are presented.
