Visible seeds of socialism and metamorphoses of capitalism: socialism after Rosdolsky

Roman Rosdolsky suggests a method to deal with the transition towards socialism that integrates three issues: 1) the identification of dynamic features of capitalism; 2) the systematization of metamorphoses of capitalism; 3) the evaluation of how these metamorphoses reshape the elaboration of alternatives to capitalism. This evaluation is a precondition for the visualization, within the complex dynamics of capitalism, of seeds of a new society Ð institutions born out of political struggles and of emancipatory features of key social processes. These institutions reshape the nature of the metamorphoses of capitalism Ð and the possibility of establishing socialism and democracy.metamorphoses of capitalism; technology and finance; socialism and democracy.

Inadequacy of technology and innovation systems at the periphery: notes on Celso Furtado's contributions for a dialogue between evolutionists and structuralists

This paper focuses on "inadequacy of technology" as formulated by Celso Furtado. The concept of "inadequacy of technology" may be, on the one hand, an enlightening assessment of the technological condition of underdevelopment and, on the other hand, a helpful "focusing device" for an agenda on innovation systems at the periphery. Furtado's approach on inappropriate technology may uncover the social roots of the well know "low-growth trap" of less-developed economies. Celso Furtado explains how inadequacy of technology is related to the polarization "modernization-marginalization" that characterizes economies with immature systems of innovation, as the Brazilian economy. This concept also highlights how difficult it is to overcome the complex interplay among unequal income distribution, localized and blocked technical progress and unsustainable economic growth. To overcome the inadequacy of technology a dual institutional building seems to be necessary: the innovation systems might co-evolve with welfare systems.Celso Furtado, evolutionary theory, innovation systems, welfare systems, catching up process

Less-developed countries and innovation in health: notes and data about the Brazilian case

This communication discusses the specificity of health innovation in a lessdeveloped country, investigating the Brazilian case. To evaluate the specificity of the Brazilian system, this communication presents data about employment, expenditures, industrial firms in health-related industrial sectors, scientific resources, and diffusion of medical equipment. This communication concludes summarising the main characteristics of the Health Innovation System in Brazil.health; innovation; Brazil

Causa e efeito: contribuições de Marx para investigações sobre finanças e inovação

Marx has a method for the evaluation of patterns of interaction between finance and innovation. Two starting points of this method are the simultaneity of cause and effect and the identification of reciprocal effects between the monetary-financial dimension and the industrialinnovative dimension. This paper investigates this method firstly defining a dynamic concept of money. The connections between the monetary-financial dimension and the industrial-innovative dimension are examined through their historical and theoretical elements. Finally, the most important connections of this complex interaction are presented.finance, inovation, co-evolution, Marx, method

Mercado, tecnologia e socialismo: notas sobre a rodada atual de um debate histórico

This paper reviews two elaborations on alternatives to capitalism (Roemer, 1994 e Burczak, 2006). The present round of the controversy on socialism, planning vs. market, was triggered by the collapse of the bureaucratic regime in the URSS. One key feature of the present round is the influence of Hayek. One important argument for the fundamental role of markets in these models of socialism is technology – seen as a product of market forces. This paper evaluates the present round as an introduction to a suggestion of new terms for this important debate.Socialism, Roemer, Burczak, technology.

Plano x mercado na história do pensamento econômico: diferentes contextos e lições de quatro rodadas de um grande debate

The collapse of USSR has stimulated a huge scholarly debate on socialist alternatives. This paper surveys four rounds of the debate on market and planning in the transition towards socialism: the socialist calculation debate (Barone, Mises, Lange and Hayek), market and plan in the Soviet industrialization (Preobrajesnky and Bukharin), plan, market and democracy in the USSR's crisis (Nove, Mandel and Elson) and market socialism (Roemer, Wright). This survey summarizes the specific contributions of each round. The concluding section suggests a research agenda for a contemporary elaboration on this subject. This elaboration includes both these lessons and the structural changes within the capitalist system.socialism; market and plan; economic thought

Darimon, bancos e crédito: notas sobre os Grundrisse e a transição para o socialismo

Darimon’s book - De la réforme des banques – is the starting point of Grundrisse. This paper presents its structure and discusses how Marx’s critiques are part of his elaboration on the role of credit in capitalism and in the transition towards socialism. Marx’s trajectory from Grundrisse to Das Kapital is summarized: initially there is the critique to Darimon, finally there is a strong but very open statement: credit is a “powerful lever” in the transition towards socialism. This statement is a key topic of a research agenda on the transition to socialism.Darimon, credit, transition to socialism, MEGA

Cross-over, thresholds, and interactions between science and technology: a tentative simplified model and initial notes about statistics from 120 countries

The hypothesis of this paper is the existence of thresholds of scientific production that must be overcome to trigger new channels of interactions between the scientific and technological infrastructure. As the development process evolves, new interactions are initiated. The interactions between science and technology become stronger and more pervasive, reaching at last the mutual feedbacks and the virtuous circles typical of developed economies. Using statistics of patents (USPTO) and scientific papers (ISI) for 120 countries (for 1974, 192, 1990 and 1998), this paper investigates the relationship between the scientific infrastructure and the technological production.science and technology; economic developmentR&D; Brazil

Limite econômico ou metamorfoses do capitalismo?

Metamorphoses of capitalism may be investigated following a dialogue between two theoretical approaches: long waves of capitalist development (Freeman & Louçã, 2001) and systemic cycles of accumulation (Arrighi, 1994). This dialogue organizes this paper. The first section associates the metamorphoses of capitalism with the counteracting factors against the tendency of the profit rate to fall. The second section presents the matching and mismatching between changes in the state and metamorphoses of capitalism. The third section evaluates the changes in the position of the United States as the hegemonic power. The final section discusses the limits to capitalism.metamorphoses of capitalism; economic cycles, State.

Transnational corporations and patenting activities in Brazil: data description and statistical tests about the relative internalization of technological activities

This paper presents data and statistical tests about an index of "relative internalization of technological activities" (RITA, henceforth) of transnational corporations located in Brazil. This indicator is the ratio between the non-resident patents applied by the headquarters of the transnational corporations to the Instituto Nacional de Propriedade Industrial (INPI) and the resident patents applied by their subsidiaries. This paper describes the leading transnational corporations in non-resident patenting. The data are processed to investigate the correlation between the RITA indexes of each corporation and their characteristics such as 1) industrial sector; 2) technological class; 3) nationality; and 4) size. These statistical relations are calculated using Principal component analysis and regression analysis