Nauka, innowacje, technologia XX wieku. Refleksje społeczno-ekonomiczne

The author expresses his conviction that particularly in the XX century science, technology and innovations have proved their endogenic character before the whole historical social process. The explosion of science, technology and innovations in the XX century is so great that in the text it was possible to draw attention only to the nodal points of these phenomena. Among others accent in the considerations is put on the separation of knowledge as an independent production factor and on the rise of a new member of the national economy the sphere of Research and Development. The historical-comparative approach to the discussed phenomena caused the consideration of the effective factors of progress in the discussed fields, and thus also the role of the state and motivation economic and non-economic of this progress. Among the new phenomena concerning the effective factors and amplifying the motivations of technological and social innovation the author included ecological problems. Treating about innovations the author emphasized alsothe role of various great social innovations which no less than technological innovations distinguished the XX century against the historical background.