Nanotechnology: “Science finds, industry applies, man adapts”

Abstract

The article analyzes, based on conceptual data, the technical and economic significance of nanotechnologies. It then checks, through the doctrine of law and economics, or the Economic Analysis of Law, the parameters from the field economics that can be used in area of nanotechnology and are capable of assisting the legal area to play its role effectively in a sector of the economy that is developing rapidly and where there is no specific regulatory framework in force. It also integrates reflections on a historical framework of reification, use and exploitation of man as a simple good of nature at the service of technology, seeking to demonstrate the importance of putting human being (and the environment) at the core of development. In the light of the economic concepts listed by the Economic Analysis of Law, it discusses the efficiency in resource allocation, balance between economic agents, the individual possibilities to develop in freedom and security, and the possibilities for organizations, in the absence of regulatory frameworks specific to nanotechnology, to self-regulate themselves, through agreements that bring benefits in terms of competitiveness, access to international markets, greater effectiveness and transparency of organizations in relation to consumers, by prioritizing information and credibility that internationally recognized standards offer, recognizing them as legally binding norms.

Keywords: nanotechnologies, law and economics, ISO standards.