ABSTRACT
In the 1970s, all industrial societies had a goal to offset the rising costs of raw materials and to secure access to natural resources in order to sustain their social and economic structure. The first systemic response was the neoliberal paradigm, which emerged in the late 1970s. Its effects are still pervasive and it remains a constant object of research and debate. The paradigm offered two solutions. The first was to increase the degree of autonomy of the economic sphere to restore competitiveness and profits by reducing the constraints of the other spheres of activities, such as economic regulation and taxation used to finance government and social programs. Defense and military budgets were exempted or increased in order to secure access to natural resources. The paradigm operates at the structural level of society. It does not take into account environmental transition—the impacts of economic and human activities on the environment are treated as costs. This paradigm reshaped the world. Innovation was the second solution: its goal was to restore competitiveness and growth. Education, science, technology, research, and universities were treated as institutions manageable according to economic criteria and models.
