Innovation has long been seen as a universal good – a solution to society’s problems and a path to a better future. But why did innovation become such a central ideal, and what happens when the hallelujah spirit surrounding the concept wears off?
In his book Every American an Innovator, cultural historian Matthew Wisnioski explores how the culture of innovation emerged long before the tech boom. Drawing on a decade of research, he shows how engineers, bureaucrats and philosophers from the 1940s onwards shaped the image of the innovator as society’s most important change agent. Innovation became not just an economic strategy but a way of life, an ideal that permeated education, politics – and children’s play.
But as the promise of innovation is questioned as a good thing, it has become clear that the history of the concept needs to be examined. The book can be seen as both a revealing analysis and a contribution to the conversation about how we shape the future. The book can be read for free via open access.
