LOS ORÍGENES DEL DISCURSO DE APROPIACIÓN SOCIAL DE LA CIENCIA Y LA TECNOLOGÍA EN COLOMBIA

THE ORIGINS OF THE DISCOURSE OF SOCIAL APPROPRIATION OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN COLOMBIA

Mi propósito en este artículo es indagar sobre los orígenes neoliberales del discurso de apropiación social de la ciencia y la tecnología en Colombia. En particular, intento mostrar que los valores o las actitudes promovidos hacia la ciencia y la tecnología mediante dicho discurso, se han asociado directamente con el logro de las metas de producción y desarrollo económico impulsadas por el nuevo modelo de apertura económica que inicia en los años ochenta y se consolida en la década de los noventa con el gobierno Gaviria. Para esto, empiezo con una breve mirada al concepto de política científica, para dar un contexto general. Luego paso a describir lo que podría denominarse la versión oficial (o semioficial) del origen del término en la política científica colombiana, antes de ofrecer una versión más compleja, pero mucho más informativa, de ese origen. Finalizo con algunos comentarios sobre el destino de este término en la política científica colombiana posterior.

The purpose of this article is to examine the neoliberal origins of the discourse of social appropriation of science and technology in Colombia. In particular, it attempts to demonstrate that the values and attitudes towards science and technology promoted through such discourse have been associated directly with the attainment of the goals of production and development goals promoted by the new economic liberalization model that initiated during the decade of the eighties and was consolidated under the Gaviria government during the decade of the nineties. The foregoing is accomplished starting with an overview of the concept of science policy in order to provide a general context, then a description of what might be denominated as the official (or semiofficial) version of the origin of the term in Colombian science policy, followed by a more complex and more informative narrative of its origin, and finally, concluding with commentaries concerning the fate of the term in later Colombian science policy.

The purpose of this article is to examine the neoliberal origins of the discourse of social appropriation of science and technology in Colombia. In particular, it attempts to demonstrate that the values and attitudes towards science and technology promoted through such discourse have been associated directly with the attainment of the goals of production and development goals promoted by the new economic liberalization model that initiated during the decade of the eighties and was consolidated under the Gaviria government during the decade of the nineties. The foregoing is accomplished starting with an overview of the concept of science policy in order to provide a general context, then a description of what might be denominated as the official (or semiofficial) version of the origin of the term in Colombian science policy, followed by a more
complex and more informative narrative of its origin, and finally, concluding with commentaries concerning the fate of the term in later Colombian science policy.