Few of the current crop of technology analysts have been around long enough to offer much useful analysis on the state of technology investment, let alone put the innovation process into a sixty-year historical perspective.

An exception is Mark Stahlman, a Wall Street technology strategist who has been writing about tech-driven growth cycles for more than 20 years.

Writing in the current issues of Strategy + Business magazine, Stahlman surmises that the global economy has entered a "new golden age" and what Stahlman calls "the emerging silicon economy."

The full article, which states that "the history of investment and technology suggests that economic recovery is closer than you think, with a new silicon-based global elite at the helm," can be found here.

Below are few highlights and extracts, with bold emphasis added,  from Stahlman's excellent global assessment.

"Recession. Depression. War. Terrorism. Unemployment. Enemies on the march."

We've been there before.

Despite all of this "the global economy is poised to en­ter a new phase of robust, dependable growth. Technological and economic historian Carlota Perez calls it a “golden age.” Such ages occur roughly every 60 years, and they last for a decade or more, part of a long cycle of technological change and financial activity."

"This time, linchpins of the golden age will include the worldwide build-out of a new services-oriented infrastructure based on dig­ital technology and a general shift to cleaner energy and environmentally safer technologies. In the emerging markets of China, India, Brazil, Russia, and dozens of smaller developing nations, a billion people will enter the expanding global middle class."

"For the first time in decades, a commonality of purpose and shared reservoir of knowledge will bridge the many differences among governing bodies. Many peo­ple have lived their adult lives without responsible and capable leadership; to their surprise, the next 30 years will be a time when authority — both in government and in business — can be trusted.

"Com­panies such as Microsoft, IBM, and Intel have matured during the past 20 years, weathering conflicts — IBM’s near breakup, Microsoft’s antitrust battles, Intel’s confrontations with other chip manufacturers — that threatened their corporate existence and forced them to reconsider their core strategies and redefine their long-term goals.