ABSTRACT
Whatever one’s views on the desirability of emerging technologies, it is worth pausing to consider the smallness of the scale on which this book has focused. Imagine splitting a human hair into 100,000 pieces-just one of those pieces would represent the realm on which nanotechnology operates. What happens in this realm is so integral to our existence that it has become the site for a worldwide exploration of some of the most fundamental challenges we collectively face. These are challenges that have already begun to appear with regularity in the headlines (such as climate change, food shortages, and restricted access to essential medicines), yet the full extent of their long-term impacts is still to be felt, both globally and locally. In this concluding chapter, we consider the way our authors addressed these challenges through their own studies and research into nanotechnology, and how, as a collective voice, their contributions addressed the four themes that make up this book: limits, capacity, appropriateness, and governance. These reviews lead us to consider nano-innovation in a broader context of the evolving relationships between science and society and to explore alternative paths for technological innovation, along with the new associations and challenges that may arise. Although somewhat speculative, we make an earnest attempt to explore the possibilities for innovation without growth, and conclude by
CONTENTS
13.1 Introduction ................................................................................................ 281 13.2 Chapter and Themes Revisited ................................................................283 13.3 Alternative Paths for Technological Innovation .................................... 291 13.4 New Associations and Further Research Avenues ............................... 292 13.5 New Challenges ......................................................................................... 293 13.6 The Bigger Picture: Nano-Innovation within a New
Political Economy ....................................................................................... 294 References ............................................................................................................. 295 Endnotes ............................................................................................................... 297
placing nano-innovation within a larger context of futures beyond economic growth-a prospect toward which we believe we can work.
