Knowledge society

     

  Knowledge has been at the heart of growth and development since time immemorial. The ability to invent and innovate, and create new knowledge to trigger development of new products, processes and services that help improve the quality of life has been a principal occupation of mankind .The terms ‘knowledge society’, ‘knowledge-based economy’, however, are terms that were coined more recently. It is important for proper understanding to make a distinction between knowledge and information. Knowledge empowers its possessors with the capability for action- intellectual or physical. Knowledge is a matter of cognitive capability. Information, on the other hand, takes the shape of structured and formatted data that remain passive and inert until used by those with the knowledge needed to interpret and process them. The term knowledge society was 
probably first used by Peter Drucker in 1969 (1). It is not a mere coincidence that the idea emerged along with such notions as learning societies, life-long education, etc.
 the notion of knowledge society is closely related to these. In a broad sense every society has been a knowledge society as every society must have had its knowledge assets. However when the term is used in the present context ,it often refers to a society in which knowledge is a primary factor of economic productivity as contrasted with societies in which capital and labour still rule. There is another significant difference between ‘knowledge society’ as understood today and the earlier knowledge societies. The focus today is on human rights, inclusivity and participation of all sections of the society. A knowledge society generates shares and applies knowledge for the prosperity and well-being of its people and for overall development.
     A closely related term ‘Post-industrial society’ was used as early as in 1914, i.e. 100 years ago. It was Daniel Bell who revived its usage in his well known book, The Coming of Post-Industrial Society (2). This term was the most frequently used one before the expression “information society” gained overall acceptance; it 
defined the newly emerged social-economic phenomenon by emphasizing the fact that the old structures of the industrial era were replaced by new ones rather than by focusing on its “content”. Information Society is a closely related term and widely used today (3). Although the terms ‘Information society’ and ‘Knowledge society’ are often used interchangeably there is a difference that needs to be understood.
 The idea of ‘Information society’ as it is understood today, is primarily based on the technological breakthroughs that resulted from the revolution in information and communication technologies (ICT). While the idea of the Internet as a public network and as a platform for universal and equitable access to knowledge resources is at the core of the concept of ‘Knowledge society’, the notion has much broader implications as it has social, political, cultural and even ethical dimensions. Plans to ushering in a Knowledge society’ should be based on the clear understanding that even in today’s technology driven society the control of knowledge and access to knowledge can go hand in hand with serious inequality, exclusion and social conflict. Ideally a true knowledge society should integrate all its members and promote new forms of solidarity involving both present and future generations. Nobody should be excluded from knowledge societies, where knowledge is a public good, available to every individual.