ABSTRACT
Over the last four chapters, we have shown how a relational Marxism adds considerable explanatory power to concrete studies of the economics of science, or rather political economy of research and innovation; the study of the development of particular (techno-)sciences in interaction with their political economic context (including, but not limited to, their direct funding arrangements). In particular, building on value theory towards meso-levels of the concrete historical evolution of capitalist techno-economic change provides a structural context for these studies, lacking in the economics of technological change (ETC) literature, and leading to importantly different substantive conclusions, for example regarding the current conjuncture and the prospects and nature of the knowledge-based (bio-)economy (‘KBBE’) (see Section II in Volume 1).
