National/Regional Approach to Innovation Donna Term Paper

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Baran and Sweezy agreed with Veblen's primary thesis about the "subdued conflict between workmanship and salesmanship," in which workmanship is being pursued in the interests of sales of often superfluous goods rather than those that are socially necessary. Baran and Sweezy went so far as to say that Veblen's view of the matter (published in 1923) "as a description of the situation in the 1950s and 1960s... is 100 per cent on target." (O'Hara, Anthony, 2004)

Under monopoly capitalism, true innovation, according to Veblen, is often separated from sales and profit. The engineers produce innovations that can be used by the whole community and the capitalists often destroy technological progress. Baran and Sweezy stress the sabotage of this industry by businesses wasting capitalism such as planned obsolescence, where engineers design a product, light globes, and other commodities that will break down after a certain length of time or use. Another example for instance, computer programs are developed and can only be used on larger and larger hard disks. The problem is not the technological ability of the engineers, but the bottom line of profit drives the capitalists to ignore innovations that might reduce profit. (O'Hara, Anthony, 2004)

Speculative bubbles in the equity, foreign exchange, and property markets, due to the dominance of business profit making over industrial production are of great importance in Japan, the U.S.A., and Europe. The rise and fall of such bubbles contributes much to the onset of recession and further instability in the global economy. Veblen's macroeconomic theorizing has been defined as being "unsystematic" and "highly frustrating," so that-in spite of his powerful insights-his "analytical attempts to lay bare the elements and modus operandi of the economic system are weak and often confused" (O'Hara, Anthony, 2004)

Anyone reading [Veblen's] major works on capitalism today must, I think, be struck by the fact that the vision which they embody remains astonishingly fresh and relevant.

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No one understood so clearly the growth of monopolistic (or, if you prefer, oligopolistic) big business with its ramifications and implications in such fields as advertising, distribution, and popular culture. No one grasped so thoroughly the unity of economics and politics.... Also, only Veblen has built these elements [of war, militarism, and nationalism] into a reasoned and coherent theory.... Veblen's pessimism may be a good deal more meaningful and relevant than it is now fashionable to admit. (O'Hara, Anthony, 2004)

Some media reports have suggested that the prospects for innovation and risk taking by businesses will be significantly dampened by increased regulation and tightened corporate governance requirements. After that has been said, some economists further state that they see a quite favorable outlook for innovation. If you look at IBM's latest Global Technology Outlook, it indicates that in the early days of the 21st century, innovation is occurring more rapidly, and is more open and collaborative than ever before. Most managers have business problems they want to solve and processes they need to optimize, along with widespread recognition that companies that don't innovate will be left behind. (Fahrer, 2005).....

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