Lessons from the Struggle for a New International Technology Order

This paper locates the work of Surendra Patel within the context of the efforts of the Global South to secure development-friendly reforms in the arrangements for international technology transfer. Negotiations for an International Code of Conduct on Technology Transfer during the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) were superseded by the Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement in the WTO, but the relevance of Patel's analysis is shown by the current concerns of developing countries regarding the operation of TRIPS. The contribution of Patel's work to Caribbean research on technology is identified. The second part of the paper discusses another stream of development thinking to which Patel's generation gave rise, which focused on the internal dimension. It takes as an example the development of Caribbean economic thought in the early post-colonial period, and argues that there is continuing relevance to the “dependency critique” of writers in the 1970s in the context of the shortfalls of contemporary globalization. Patel's critical perspective on technology and development has provided a valuable legacy for succeeding generations.