Business and Government in a Global Context: An Analysis

This essay delves into the multifaceted relationship between business and government, particularly in the context of globalization. It examines the US government's role in supporting private firms' technological initiatives, contrasting it with the approaches of Western European democracies and Japan. The essay highlights the US's covert yet effective methods of fostering technological development through initiatives like the 'Developmental Network State,' where public funds are directed towards research. It discusses the implications of this approach, including the rise of startups and the need for improved business-government relations to address critical humanitarian issues such as climate change and disease. The author emphasizes the importance of government investment in social causes alongside military strength, advocating for a proactive role in ventures that can revolutionize the quality of life worldwide.

Running head: BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT
BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT
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2BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT
The United States federal government has taken substantial actions in the recent years to
support the initiatives of the private firms to develop new technologies (Block 2015). The
liberalization of economy that has been executed in the United States is substantially different
from that of the Western European democracies. Liberalization of economy though means free
market, however it does not signify a system where the government will become apathetic
towards economic development of the poor people of its country, or the technological researches
taken up by the researchers and private entities. The government must participate in a non-
intrusive method to inject economic prosperity without dictating terms (Block 2008).
The American government has been active in encouraging the private entities to develop
new and innovative technologies to solve people’s problems. The difference between the process
in which the technological development is supported by the government lies in the fact that in
Europe the political parties and the government openly supports the developmental agendas,
however the same process in the United States is rather covert and not much publicized. The
reason US has to follow this path of anonymity is because the general mindset that government
should let alone the private companies in their own quest for success. “Japan’s Ministry of
Industry and Trade (MITI), was a centralized form of state policy that has been usefully called a
Developmental Bureaucratic State (DBS)”. In Japan and South Korea there is direct intervention
of the government in incentivizing the companies that are working towards technological
revolution.
The US federal government took up the cause and during the time period of 1980 to 1992
the acceleration of the development of technology was achieved efficiently. This gave rise to the
“Developmental Network State” or the DNS which is a platform to direct the public funds
towards researches that can boost technological development to a considerable extent. The new

3BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT
initiative resulted in a number of startups that worked towards the overall technological
development of the country (Foray, Mowery and Nelson 2012). These startups raised funds from
both private entities and from the public ventures, hence the government had stake in these
companies.
The domestic implications had resulted in a scenario where there was a contentious
discussion about the process of “how an egalitarian and democratic turn in social and economic
policies could assure prosperity for the nation.” There have to be a better persuasion of the
parties that are in dilemma and the relationship between the businesses and the government
needs to be improved.
The federal government should ow take proactive steps in investing into ventures and
initiatives that have the potential in addressing critical humanitarian issues such as climate
change, hunger containment and defending against diseases. Strengthening of military might is
important in establishing a developed nation, however investing in social causes that have the
potential of revolutionizing the quality of people worldwide can be the noblest of all initiatives a
state can invest into (Block and Keller 2015). The recent interest of the federal government in
supporting the private entities engaged in research on technological revolution is therefore worth
commendable.

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Reference
Block, F., 2008. Swimming against the current: The rise of a hidden developmental state in the
United States. Politics & society, 36(2), pp.169-206.
Block, F., 2015. Innovation and the invisible hand of government. In State of innovation (pp. 9-
34). Routledge.
Block, F.L. and Keller, M.R., 2015. State of innovation: the US government's role in technology
development. Routledge.
Foray, D., Mowery, D.C. and Nelson, R.R., 2012. Public R&D and social challenges: What
lessons from mission R&D programs?. Research Policy, 41(10), pp.1697-1702.