Placing Science and Technology in Society: A Critical Reflection

Technology and science, on the one hand, and, economy, culture and polity, on the other hand, are inseparable. The interface between technology, science and society has significant implications for the transition from science being a curiosity-driven research to contract obligations. Putting it succinctly, this paper captures the transition from ‘science as public resource’ to ‘science as intellectual property’ by examining an implicit disjunction between the state and society, slurring over questions about the social foundations of political power and the making of public policy.