AbstractDuring the lifetime of SPRU, the emphasis in science and technology policies has shifted from an essentially science-push framework in the 1950s, through a phase of preoccupation with economic growth and management of innovation in the 1960s, and on to a wider concern with the environment and quality of life since the 1970s. Within this context, some quality of life issues are discussed which are only indirectly related to economic growth: civil liberty, quality, variety and choice in new products and services, and social equity. A number of examples are given of changes in trend which are influenced by, and sometimes closely related to, changes in science and technology, which give some grounds for hope.