"Academic Dissertation, March 2005, University of Helsinki, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Sociology." / Includes bibliographical references (p. 409-465).

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- Beijing da xue, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Comparative Literature / Master / Master of Philosophy

No description available.

Capitalism has developed in something less than two hundred years into a system of doctrines and values which influence man's development around the world. It takes many forms and it functions within differing cultures and with different shades of meaning. It is an intensely penetrating economic system, never satisfied to contain itself within any given geographical area for long. It is the dominant economic structure of western civilization today and is seeking a foothold in eastern culture. For this reason it is being subjected to searching question. In any attempt to evaluate capitalism one is immediately struck by the plurality and confusion of its values. This thesis will attempt to trace the history of that plurality and confusion; to show how and why they arose; to relate economic values to the humanity which must live with them. All human values are subject to change and all social values are relative. Economic systems are social institutions and as such are directly related to the other institutions of any given society. For this reason the search for capitalistic values must be made within the social milieu as a whole. The economic system cannot be set apart from the church, the state, the family, the educational system and the values which pervade these related institutions. As man is subjected to changing social concepts and ideals, his material values will reflect these changes. And, as man is subjected to changing economic pressures, his value judgments in every area may be subjected to modification.

Introduction It is now well established in the literature that innovation constitutes a key process underpinning economic change within capitalism. This does not, however, imply that there is a single perspective that informs policy thinking about innovation. Over the preceding decades diverse interpretations have emerged resonating with the general idea that “...a national system of innovation can only be judged as healthy if the knowledge, technologies, products and processes produced by the national system of science, engineering and technology have been converted into increased wealth, by industry and business, and into an improved quality of life for all members of society” (DACST, 1996: 18). Whilst the South African reading of the literature has attempted to draw together commercial and social interpretations, both interpretations have generally derived ‘innovation’ narrowly from the science and technology (S&T) sector of the economy (Scerri, 2009 and Maharajh, 2011). This interpretation typically represented S&T as the key element of ‘the engine of growth’ and thus, by proxy, the route to increased productivity, competitiveness and economic prosperity and consequently argued that an improved S&T sector would result from increased expenditure on research and development (R&D). Within mainstream economics and its attendant planning framework, the S&T sector is generally viewed as an important but essentially exogenous component of the general economy. This approach represents, in our view, a fundamentalist orthodoxy and remains largely embedded within the teaching of mainstream neo-classical economics. In effect, in mainstream economic thinking innovation is seen as an important exogenous determinant of the value added content of production which increases the competitiveness of firms and economies, leading to economic growth and therefore to an increase of overall societal welfare. This approach to the causal relationship between innovation and economic growth even if somewhat simplified here, represents the core of orthodox thinking on the economic role of innovation. As we will argue below, this questionable reasoning stems from the internal logic of mainstream economic theory.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Hua zhong shi fan da xue. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 243-249).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Hua zhong shi fan da xue. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 243-249).

Thesis--Wisconsin. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 551-589).