Table Of ContentKNOWLEDGE CAPITALISM
In his newest book, Stehr builds on his classic book Knowledge Societies (1994) to
expand the concept toward one of knowledge capitalism for a now much-changed
era. It is not only because of the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic that we are
living in a new epoch; it is the idea that modern societies increasingly constitute
comprehensive knowledge societies under intensive capitalism, whereby the legal
encoding of knowledge through national and international law is the lever that
enables the transformation of the knowledge society into knowledge capitalism.
The Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights agreement, negotiated
between 1986 and 1994 as part of the World Trade Organization, is the backbone
of the modern society and marks a clear historical demarcation, and although
knowledge capitalism is primarily an economic development, the digital giants
who are in the driver’s seat have signifcant efects on the social structure and
culture of modern society.
Nico Stehr is Karl Mannheim Professor of Cultural Studies Emeritus at the
Zeppelin University, Friedrichshafen, Germany. He is a fellow of the Royal
Society (Canada). He is one of the authors of the Hartwell Paper on climate
policy. His recent books include The Power of Scientifc Knowledge (with Reiner
Grundmann, 2012); Is Liberty a Daughter of Knowledge? (2016); Understanding
Inequality: Social Costs and Benefts (with Amanda Machin, 2016); Knowledge: Is
Knowledge Power? (with Marion Adolf, Routledge, 2017); Society & Climate (with
Amanda Machin, 2019); Money: A Social Theory of Modernity (with Dustin Voss,
Routledge, 2020).
“Much writing and talking about ‘knowledge society’, I have to admit, has struck
me as shallow and fashionable. In contrast, Nico Stehr’s renewed treatment of the
topic has convinced me of the analytical potential of the concept. This is so due
to the author’s compelling investigation of the sociological features of knowledge
capitalism: knowledge, although intangible and reproduced with marginal costs of
almost zero, is being transformed, thanks to political arrangements such as patent
law, into something tradeable and proftable. Yet the radical expansion of options
for strategic agency that follows from the centrality of knowledge production
seems to make the future of knowledge capitalism highly contingent—virtually
unknowable.”
—Claus Ofe, Humboldt University Emeritus
“Why is a complex society also a more fragile one? Should we always expand
our action and knowledge? These questions and many others form the gist of
what a modern society is. This book is a major contribution both to the question
of what characterizes a modern society and how sociology should approach
knowledge capitalism.”
—Eva Illouz, Directrice, École des hautes études en
sciences sociales (EHESS)
“Nico Stehr argues persuasively that the ‘knowledge society’ created by science
and technology has been captured by ‘knowledge monopoly capitalism’. Digital
giants, entrenched by intellectual property rights, use their control of electronic
communication to shape social behaviour for private gain. The appropriation
of a free good by the platforms in turn encounters resistance and generates
alternatives. Stehr’s formidable book brings into focus the permanent tensions at
the heart of modernity.”
—Lord Skidelsky, Professor Emeritus of Political
Economy, University of Warwick
“Knowledge Capitalism provides a brilliant analysis of the ways in which intellectual
monopolies are shaping the world economy, causing increasing inequality and
secular stagnation. Stehr’s book gives us very useful tools for formulating political
strategies which can improve our life in this last stage of capitalism. The knowledge
about knowledge ofered in this book should become an important reference for
university courses dealing with the structure of contemporary societies.”
—Ugo Pagano, Professor of Economics, University of Siena
KNOWLEDGE
CAPITALISM
Nico Stehr
Cover image: © Shutterstock
First published 2022
by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
and by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2022 Taylor & Francis
The right of Nico Stehr to be identifed as author of this work has been
asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other
means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and
recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identifcation and explanation
without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Stehr, Nico, author.
Title: Knowledge capitalism/Nico Stehr.
Description: New York, NY: Routledge, 2022. | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifers: LCCN 2021061287 | ISBN 9781032282909 (pbk) |
ISBN 9781032282916 (hbk) | ISBN 9781003296157 (ebk)
Subjects: LCSH: Capitalism. | Information society.
Classifcation: LCC HB501. S8977 2022 | DDC 330.12/2—
dc23/eng/20220114
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021061287
ISBN: 978-1-032-28291-6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-28290-9 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-29615-7 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003296157
Typeset in Bembo
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
CONTENTS
Detailed table of Contents vi
Preface x
Acknowledgments xvii
1 Theories of society 1
2 Knowledge about knowledge 48
3 From knowledge societies to knowledge capitalism 162
4 The politics of knowledge capitalism 270
Winds of change: conclusion 321
Bibliography 328
Name Index 384
Subject Index 390
DETAILED TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface x
Acknowledgments xvii
1 Theories of society 1
The theory of theories of society 2
The logic of the orthodox perspective 4
The major mechanism of functional diferentiation 7
Ejecting God and nature 11
Steps to the future 13
Societies in transition 17
Modernization as extension and enlargement 19
Expanding the feld of social action 21
Modern society as industrial society 25
The origins and contours of industrial society 26
The transformation of industrial society 28
The design of post-industrial societies 29
Post-industrial attributes 31
Late capitalism 33
Surrender of agency 34
Transition to knowledge societies 40
The normality of diversity 41
2 Knowledge about knowledge 48
Knowing 49
Detailed table of Contents vii
Toward a sociological concept of knowledge 50
Knowledge as a capacity to act 53
Scientifc knowledge as a capacity to act 54
Capacities 55
Knowledge as a model for reality 57
Knowledge is power 58
Knowledge that matters 59
More capacities for action 61
Knowledge as a bundle of competencies or skills 62
Science as an immediately productive force 65
Knowledge as an individual/collective capacity for action 69
On the limits of the power of (scientifc) knowledge 71
Competition among forms of knowledge 72
Society cannot wait 73
The political economy of knowledge 77
Knowledge as a commodity 79
The growing supply of and demand for knowledge 82
Knowledge and information 87
Confating information and knowledge 88
Opposing knowledge and information 90
Divorcing information and knowledge 93
Knowing and “not knowing” 95
Sigmund Freud and Friedrich Hayek: why quit? 97
The excessive prosperity (bubble) in non-knowledge 98
Observing non-knowledge, and some of the questions one
should ask 99
Asymmetric information/knowledge 101
On the virtues (advantages?) of non-knowledge 103
The societal diferentiation of non-knowledge and knowledge
gaps 105
Outlook 106
Practical knowledge 108
Daniel Bell and the reduction of the indeterminacy of social
conditions 111
The General Theory as practical knowledge 112
The unique complexity of social phenomena 114
Is a reduction of societal complexity the prerequisite for powerful
knowledge? 117
Keynes’ theory as an exemplary case 118
The constituents of practical knowledge 120
Gedankenexperimente 122
viii Detailed table of Contents
John Maynard Keynes’ policy intervention 123
The knowledge problem 125
Global worlds of knowledge 129
How global is knowledge? 130
Appropriating knowledge 132
Knowledge knows no borders 134
Knowledge in the age of the algorithm 139
3 From knowledge societies to knowledge capitalism 162
Early uses of the term “knowledge society” 163
Peter Drucker’s and Daniel Bell’s theory of the knowledge
society 165
Dating modern knowledge societies 169
Mature theories of the knowledge society 171
Genealogy of knowledge societies 175
The political economy of knowledge societies 177
Attributes of knowledge societies 178
Knowledge in knowledge societies 180
The growth of economic well-being 184
(Hard) Indicators of knowledge societies 187
Individuals as capital 188
Investments in human skills 190
Investments in physical and human capital 193
Patents, property, scarcity, and monopolies 196
A tipping point? 198
What exactly is knowledge-based capital? 201
Markets for intellectual property 205
Labor and capital share of income 207
Knowledge capitalism 212
Patents, used as a sword 213
Patents and knowledge capitalism 215
A blind spot: the limits of the power of patents 223
Time to fx patents? 226
The society of knowledge capitalism 230
Countermodels 232
The creative society 232
Creativity 235
Creative capital 236
The network society 237
The information age 238
The productivity paradox 240
Detailed table of Contents ix
Technology, labor, and the knowledge capitalism 242
Geopolitics, inequality, and patents 244
4 The politics of knowledge capitalism 270
Actors with capacities to act 272
Emancipation through knowledge 278
The fragility of knowledge societies 280
The political challenges of modern knowledge societies 287
Knowledge politics 288
Patent policies 293
The specter of technological unemployment 296
Climate change and the future of societies 300
Exceptional circumstances 302
The rise of exceptional circumstances 303
The erosion of democracy 305
Enlightened leadership 307
Science, knowledge, and democracy 309
Enhancing democracy 310
Winds of change: conclusion 321
Knowledge monopoly capitalism 322
Knowledge, uncertainty, and contingency 324
Conclusion 327
Bibliography 328
Name Index 384
Subject Index 390
