Abstract
This article explores the concept of innovation through the philosophy of Bernard Stiegler. Traditionally understood as the successful commercialization of a technical invention, innovation is considered to be the driving force behind capitalist growth. In recent years, it has been accused of being unsustainable and has been resented by many for causing more harms than benefits for life on the planet. As a result, a new generation of thinkers encourages the exit from innovation as part of a politics of “degrowth.” Although legitimate, these concerns are unfounded, as these thinkers misunderstand innovation in leaving aside the capacity for a technical phenomenon to bring effective change in society. This article turns to Stiegler's work in order to broaden the meaning of innovation. His philosophy allows us to approach innovation as a broader historical and biological drive that concerns the inherent technical character of the human. It shows that the human ability to introduce novelty and change in general can only be pursued through an interaction with technics. In a context where most of the technical resources essential to the introduction of significant change in society are owned by giant industries that only propose products destined for immediate consumption, Stiegler claims that it is politically crucial for individuals to intervene. This must be in developing a working knowledge of their technical environment in order to become again the active producers of their future, instead of being the passive consumers of a lifestyle that is essentially destructive. For these reasons, the article concludes that innovation, understood as a collective practice and a mode of social empowerment, must be revived rather than repressed.
