The Dialectic of the Knowledge Economy

It is now almost taken for granted that we are living in an economic era in which knowledge and information are of crucial importance in the creation of value. Many contemporary discussions of this phenomenon treat the categories of knowledge and information uncritically, usually by merely asserting their increased importance, and assessing the effects. Among the effects touted by some Information Age enthusiasts is the transformation of workers into owners of capital (the knowledge in their heads). This paper utilizes an approach derived from Marx’s method of analysis in Capital, viewing knowledge and information as discrete moments in the process of production and value creation. After an abstract discussion of knowledge as a process, this paper discusses the implications for the overall structure of capitalist economy, concluding that the emancipatory claims for the knowledge economy are overstated.