The Knowledge Economy is considered to be the most evolved phase of the global economy.  Its cornerstones are the same as the industrial-technology economies: private ownership, production and consumption, for the highest profit.  Once considered the collective domain of humanity (shared with all for the benefit of all), today intellectual resources are marketed as ‘products’, to be bought by and sold to the highest bidder.

The commodification of knowledge occurs in several ways.  For example, we ‘pay’ for knowledge when we send our children to private schools or tuitions, or when we ourselves attend special workshops and courses.  In doing so, we affirm two ideas: (1) information can be given a price, and (2) the ‘quality’ of information you access will vary, depending on the amount of money you have.  In other words, the knowledge economy follows the rest of global economy; it increases levels of inequality by linking participation to a price.

Knowledge is also being bought and sold through patents and copyrights. Laws are used to declare ideas, products, and even living things, to be the ‘intellectual property’ of individuals or corporations.  But although one might want credit for his/her contributions, patenting prevents the general public from using creations without permission and payment — which again means that only those who can afford to pay, get to use it.  Ironically, many of the people who acquire patents steal and manipulate knowledge to claim it as their own.  For example, in India, genetic-engineering companies have recently attempted to patent neem and basmati rice in order to control and profit from them. Pharmaceutical companies are trying to collect indigenous knowledge about medicinal plants to create and patent their own drugs.  While peoples’ movements are resisting these efforts, should they fail and the patents be given, then these staple necessities will only be available for use at a heavy price.

Buying and selling knowledge is a growing epidemic in universities around the world as well.  In the guise of donations, private companies give equipment, buildings, facilities, professorships, research grants, etc. to universities.  In exchange, the university provides them with exclusive rights to the research produced. “Commercially-sponsored research” means that companies’ interests are dominating the research agenda — which could seriously limit which questions are asked, which are not, and how the studies are designed.  For example, many universities only put their money into commercially lucrative disciplines (science/technology) and stop funding humanities and social sciences, which do not yield profits in the global market.  Further, many privately-funded studies are biased; professors receive additional monies from the companies that fund their research and so, not surprisingly, end up giving conclusions that endorse corporate interests.  More and more it seems research is done for private gain (profit) rather than for public good.

Members of a learning community can reflect on the following questions:

  -  How can we credit inventors/creators for their work and encourage new creations, in the absence of patents or copyrights?

- How can we draw upon other understandings of knowledge (as shared wisdom, for example) to begin to de-link it from the market economy and profit motives?

Source: E. Press and J. Washburn, “The Kept University” in The Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 285, No. 3, March 2000.