Looking into the Seeds of Time

This stunning, refreshing work combines the history of economics and the practice of modern development. It is predicated on Brenner's view that there is no individual freedom without economic security, and that such security depends upon progress in both the natural and social sciences. Social institutions determine the pace and direction of technological advancement, and scientific and technological achievements determine which forms of social reorganization are possible and which are illusory. As all living is action, and living implies choices, any theory of development must start with the person. Brenner sees advanced societies as technically capable of providing for basic needs but not yet convinced of their ability to do so. Modern life reflects the fears of a society still trying to escape the anxieties, demons, and ghosts of a long dark era of unemployment and starvation, The problem of development is the contradiction between technological potentials and cultural inheritances.