Max Tallberg & Petri Lahtinen
While discussing the responsibilities of governments, the English economist John Maynard Keynes said: “The important thing for government is not to do things which individuals are doing already, and to do them a little better or a little worse; but to do those things which at present are not done at all.” (The end of Laissez Faire, 1926). When considering the economy, the role of the government – especially regarding the development of innovations – should be bigger than currently. An innovation is basically a new idea, method, product or device. Furthermore, innovative information and knowledge are often utilized in a novel way socially and/or commercially. From a historical perspective, previously the most successful economies can be argued to be those in which the role of the government has been significant in one way or another. In these economies, the government has ventured into high-risk investments. One of the prerequisites for this, however, is that the public sector has the capability to develop visions as well as self-confidence.
History is full of examples where the state has subsidized projects that have spawned important innovations. However, the relationship between a state and innovations has not explicitly been purely positive. For example, the history of the development of nuclear power is irretrievably marked by the fact that scientists in the United States as well as Nazi-Germany were forced by the order of the state to develop the nuclear bomb as a means of decisively changing the direction of the war. Similarly, the Apollo space program produced various useful innovations still in use today such as thermal blankets, bridge shock absorbers, fireproof firefighter uniforms and vacuum-sealed foods. Yet politically the so-called space race was a manifestation of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. Currently, many innovations and the evaluation of their usefulness are still subjected to the criteria of competition, economic efficiency and maximal profit-seeking. When pondering the connection between the state and innovations from the perspective of more just and sustainable development, it must be taken into consideration what forms of organization and set of rules should the producers of innovation on the one hand and the state on the other hand create in order to prevent political, economic and military forces from exploiting new knowledge and information for purposes that are inappropriate with the knowledge itself and, above all, contrary to the common interest of humankind.
The capacity of the state to adopt an entrepreneur-like position where it participates more actively in the development of innovations would also be one way of justifying its large size. It is central here to stress that the extent of the public sector is not the most important factor but rather where it allocates expenditure. A state functioning like an entrepreneur could run targeted and predicted risks, but also focus on the sustainability and usefulness of the subsidized innovations for the common well-being of humankind as well as all other life. In the future, the state should also invest into fields that the private sector does not invest into. Thus, it could take chances that the private sector is not willing to take. Action of this kind could not merely increase GDP but contribute to a more widespread welfare.
When different investments produce concrete innovations, these innovations find their way usually into the market. There the developers of the innovations can offer the goods created to potential customers. There are no grounds, however, to assume that the market itself would organize society at an optimal level. The founding myth of liberalism believed in the liberation of the individual but in reality, the current freedom of liberation concerns only capital. Capital itself is fundamentally tied up with the obsession of growth that dominates our time. This obsession consists of three strong and interdependent mechanisms:
- Profit-seeking capitalism that connects employment with the constant accumulation of capital.
- Consumption linked to status-center thinking that, in turn, is related to the endless promotion of novelty i.e. consumerism.
- International competition of resources, market and investments.
In the future, when it comes to innovations and the market, political decision-makers are expected to take on a bigger role and to participate in the promotion of projects that would not otherwise be initiated. At the same time, these projects should be as such that they are beneficial not only to humans but, on a larger scale, to all organic life. The decision-making should be guided by information and knowledge provided by autonomous scientific community that is not subjected to political, economic nor military powers. Innovations created according to these principles would also lead to a development that could be imagined being both beneficial to all as well as sustainable.
Similarly, it is sustainable and just that the resources invested by the state are returned to it, at least to some extent, from those innovations in whose development the state has participated. One way of achieving this would be to claim royalties from such innovations. Alternatively, the state could receive a part of the subsidized company’s stock. As for the royalties, this money could be invested into so called “innovation funds” that would be used in the financing of future innovations. Another option would be to direct the money to new forms of social allowance such as universal basic income. It has been argued that universal basic income would for its part also serve the development of innovations as the autonomy provided by basic income would enable both the production and the reproduction of diversities instead of mere increase in value based on capital.
Capitalism and the market being worldwide systems, it is also evident that the improvement of the world cannot remain solely a local matter. Instead, the cooperation and investments by numerous states are required. It is in accordance with Global Visions’ values that international cooperation is established more firmly regarding the development of innovations as well as the improvement of the world at large. Only with extensive collective cooperation can the greatest potential to further justice, equality and the improvement of the life of all living subjects be achieved. The battle against anthropomorphic climate change and other environmental crises already constitutes a greater need for global cooperation and innovations that steer our lives in a more sustainable direction. Also, by means of more widespread global cooperation the potential benefits would not be limited solely to the citizens of wealthier and competitive states.
The state economy should not, nonetheless, be confined only to subsidizing innovations. The state has above all the responsibility to its citizens to secure the circumstances and capabilities that are prerequisites for leading a dignified and meaningful life. These include such important aspects of life as health care, education and the preservation of natural environments. When the conditions for dignified life are secured on a local scale, it is time to broaden the operative horizon towards a worldwide well-being. We must not give into cynicism and think that there are no options for current structures and systems. Cooperation between individuals, communities and states, innovations created by autonomous scientific communities and global institutions all play an elemental role in changing the current direction of economics and politics towards a sustainable, equal and just future – towards a better world.
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Keynes, John Maynard: The end of Laissez-Faire. The economic consequences of the Peace. 1926.
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Perustulon aika. Perkiö, Johanna; Suopanki, Kaisu (toim.) Into kustannus 2012. Helsinki.
Tallberg, Max. A citizen of a new time: A vision of a better world. 2022. www.avisionofabetterworld.net.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/innovation
https://nypost.com/2019/07/08/seven-inventions-from-the-apollo-space-program-we-still-use-today/
https://www.thecollector.com/cold-war-gemini-apollo-programs-moon-landing/
