TOWARDS KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY
INTRODUCTION
A society where knowledge is the primary production resource instead of capital
and labour is called a knowledge society. Efficient utilisation of this existing knowledge
can create comprehensive wealth for the nation. Such a knowledge society has two very
important components: societal transformation and wealth generation. The societal
transformation has to be through large scale development in education, healthcare,
agriculture and governance. These in turn will lead to employment generation, high
productivity and rural prosperity and hence result in wealth generation.
Knowledge has become the most important capital in the present age, and hence
the success of any society lies in harnessing it. In the same way as the unequal
distribution of materials (wealth in generalized term) caused unbalanced and
inappropriate development of society to date, imbalances in the knowledge distribution,
knowledge availability, knowledge sharing, etc. hinder the economic/cultural/social
development of human societies.
Knowledge societies have the characteristic that knowledge forms major
component of any human activity. Economic, social, cultural, and all other human
activities become dependent on a huge volume of knowledge and information. A
knowledge society is one in which knowledge becomes major creative force.
It is a further feature of the knowledge economy that, it increasingly relies on the
diffusion and use of information and knowledge, as well as its creation. The success of
enterprises, and of national economies, becomes increasingly dependent on the
information infrastructure that is necessary for the gathering and utilisation and creation
of knowledge.
The most important property is now intellectual property, not physical property.
And it is the hearts and minds of people, rather than traditional labour that are essential
to growth and prosperity. Workers at all levels in the 21st century knowledge society
will need to be lifelong learners, adapting continuously to changed opportunities, work
Dr. George Varghese, MTTC Pathanapuram 1