LamprouMemo6

MEMO 6: Delineating a Project
My project could be about: __ Nanotechnology Policy/Standards Development as a way of Governance through the new neoliberal public spheres: __ The case of nanotechnology standards development is a case study for describing the public sphere in neoliberal terms. Under the neoliberal influence, the idea of the public sphere has been used as a way of governance. But this is not obvious. And the ruling class has changed. Those new public spheres have become something like ideology, a common sense, what Foucault would include in his “governmentality” procedures. The idea of participation is obvious so there is an illusion of democratic procedures. But the power structures are not distributed equal and this fact can reveal important aspects not only about the proceedings and developments of neoliberal policies but also about the way the public participate willingly in framing technoscientific fields that give the ruling class the legitimate power to govern our technosientific realities. ==__ Nanotechnology Policy/Standards Development as a way of establishing global (knowledge) power: __ Policy making cultures appear to have differences between different countries. While the EU policy procedures appear to be more oriented towards environmental and safety issues and more open to public participation, in the US the same policy procedures seem to be more market driven. Scientific knowledge has become something more than knowledge is power. This shows the different approaches that each country follows towards its global establishment of knowledge power. == ==__ Nanotechnology Policy/Standards Development as a way of establishing a global scientific language-harmonization practices: __ Because of globalization there is a need for harmonization standards which will apply to all technoscientific products in order for the free market to function. In addition nanotechnology seems to operate as an umbrella for at least three natural sciences: physics, biology, chemistry. A formal global scientific language in the form of standards will serve this double purpose. ==