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The knowledge revolution

Author

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  • GRACIELA CHICHILNISKY

Abstract

We are on the threshold of a truly revolutionary era of discovery - ranging from the origins of the universe to new states of matter and microscopic machines, from a new understanding of the oceans and of the biological connections across the Earth's species to the functioning of the human brain and the origins of consciousness. This `golden age' of discovery, with frequent breakthroughs occurring virtually in every field, is inducing far-reaching social changes. We are undergoing a social and economic revolution which matches the impact of the agricultural and industrial revolutions. This is a `knowledge revolution' driven by knowledge and by the technologies for processing and communicating it. Knowledge is an intangible public good. It is privately produced, and it is replacing land and machines as the primary factor of production prevailing in the agricultural and industrial revolutions. This alters the terms of the debate between capitalism and socialism, and leads to a human-centred society with different types of markets, corporate structure and financial structures. Property rights on knowledge are key. Human capital is the engine of development. Markets require more egalitarian distribution of wealth for efficient functioning. The golden age of industrial society, with its voracious and unequal use of the Earth's resources, is reaching its logical limits. A new pattern of economic growth, knowledge-intensive growth, replaces the resource-intensive patterns that prevailed since World War II. This leads to a vision of society that is very innovative in the use of knowledge and very conservative in the use of the earth's resources, a new society centred on diversity and human capital and offering the prospect of substantial economic progress without damaging the ecosystems that support life on earth.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • Graciela Chichilnisky, 1997. "The knowledge revolution," New Economy, Institute for Public Policy Research, vol. 4(2), pages 107-111, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:neweco:v:4:y:1997:i:2:p:107-111
    DOI: j.1468-0041.1997.tb00182.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Argandoña, Antonio, 2002. "Ethical challenges of the new economy: An agenda of issues," IESE Research Papers D/463, IESE Business School.
    2. Zhang, Wencheng & Peng, Shuijun & Sun, Chuanwang, 2015. "CO2 emissions in the global supply chains of services: An analysis based on a multi-regional input–output model," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 93-103.
    3. Godwin C. Nwaobi, 2001. "The New Globalization Era And Digitalization Debate: An Economists Perspective," International Trade 0112001, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Jonathan Perraton, 2006. "Heavy Constraints on a “Weightless World”?," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 65(3), pages 641-691, July.
    5. Chichilnisky, Graciela & Gallopin, G., 2000. "The environmental impact of globalization on Latin America: a prospective approach," MPRA Paper 8440, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Ehrlich, Paul R. & Wolff, Gary & Daily, Gretchen C. & Hughes, Jennifer B. & Daily, Scott & Dalton, Michael & Goulder, Lawrence, 1999. "Knowledge and the environment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 267-284, August.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development
    • O34 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital
    • D8 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty

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