Foundations of the relationship between wealth and knowledge
Written by Professor Muhammad Rabie
The birth of the knowledge economy came in a globalized world that is not bounded by political or geographical boundaries. Which made his cognitive needs oblige him to be elitist to a large extent. This made the knowledge groups become the most contributors to the development of the knowledge economy with all its technological, productive and service components. It also made them the most beneficiaries of material and moral knowledge returns. This was followed by the crystallization of the knowledge worker who feels completely free to employ his knowledge, experiences, ideas and talents anywhere in the world, in pursuit of material and professional goals, away from traditional religious, national and cultural considerations. This enabled the knowledge worker to reduce the idea of faith to the limits of science, and to expand the concept of nationalism to become global in dimensions that allow him to belong to any country that opens up the field for him to work and excel, and to embrace the idea of the free market as a space that allows him to invest the proceeds of his knowledge and talents. This made the cognitive worker a unique type of human being, combining a traditional nomadic life with industrial production and technological knowledge. While this knowledge worker moves from one company to another, and one country to another, he is constantly present in virtual communities that link him with his peers through professional and interest ties. People who have sufficient knowledge of both scientific and cultural aspects, which means that people who have a good education and adopt positive attitudes about work, time and life, have the ability to be aware of the reality of their life, and realize the importance of the opportunities that come to them from time to time and how to exploit them and get money, and climb the social ladder. On the other hand, whoever owns money from people, that is, whoever obtains wealth, whether through inheritance or work, has the ability to obtain a good education, which provides him with new and good opportunities for material gain, wealth and the strengthening of his social position. On the other hand, those who do not have a good education or money cannot compete with others and climb the social hierarchy, which leaves them living in isolated places dominated by misery, and sometimes dominated by poverty and crime. However, there are exceptions to this rule that usually come due to the extraordinary intelligence, ambition and ability of some people to seize the opportunities that arise from time to time.
Since the one who possesses wealth and knowledge sits comfortably at the top of the social pyramid and its slopes overlooking the world of imagination, thinking of nothing but how to develop his wealth and excel over his colleagues and neighbors, it is difficult for him to see the people sitting at the base of the pyramid, because the shadows of palaces and cement forests that cover most cities obscure them from him; Which made the ability of this rich man to feel what the poor feel almost non-existent. This means that the future is not only expected to witness the fragmentation of knowledge societies into the poor and the rich, but also into the ignorant and the educated. Quality education today enables educated people to get rewarding jobs, to live a free life of luxury, joy and hope, and to have more money every day. On the other hand, ignorance deprives the ignorant of the possibility of obtaining the job opportunities they need that enable them to live a decent life and guarantee a secure future for them. While this situation prevents them from climbing the social hierarchy, they are often condemned to live a life of poverty, misery and deprivation.
The fact that the relationship between wealth and knowledge is characterized by being dialectical based on mutual influence, makes it difficult for the poor to obtain a good education that enables him to get a good job and build up some wealth, while it makes it easy for the rich to get an excellent education that qualifies him to obtain good job opportunities and create more wealth. On the other hand, it is the nature of wealth to enable its owner to acquire sources of power, while power enables its owner to enjoy more freedom and influence the directions of change in society to serve his interests. On the other hand, the poor are characterized by being weak in power, and in the absence of power, the space of freedom in front of them shrinks, and it is difficult for them to change reality in a way that serves their interests. For example, the 62 richest people in the world own more than half of the world’s wealth, while the richest 1% of the world’s population owns more than the rest, which constitutes 99% of the world’s population.
In addition, statistics and information in America indicate that the income and wealth gaps between the rich and the poor have reached unprecedented proportions, and that today they are causing society to pivot in terms of social, economic and political aspects. In 1946, a person born into a poor family had a 50% chance of climbing the social ladder to the middle class and escaping from poverty, but this percentage declined to about 40% in 1980, and reached 33% in 2015, and it is still declining. As for Fortune magazine, it says: Although workers are currently more educated and productive than their parents, they are falling more and more behind their parents’ generation in most economic measures. More than half of Americans experience poverty at least once in their lives before reaching the age of 60.
A quick look at today’s world reveals to us very clearly that there is no knowledge society that suffers from poverty, and there is no rich society that suffers from ignorance, while there is no ignorant society that is not poor, and there is no poor society that is not ignorant. Poverty leads in most cases to ignorance, and the persistence of ignorance perpetuates poverty, while wealth leads in almost all cases to more knowledge, and knowledge in turn contributes to perpetuating wealth. With wealth come the causes of power, influence and domination, while with ignorance comes the factors of poverty, weakness and servility.
Foundations of the relationship between wealth and knowledge
Written by Professor Muhammad Rabie
The birth of the knowledge economy came in a globalized world that is not bounded by political or geographical boundaries. Which made his cognitive needs oblige him to be elitist to a large extent. This made the knowledge groups become the most contributors to the development of the knowledge economy with all its technological, productive and service components. It also made them the most beneficiaries of material and moral knowledge returns. This was followed by the crystallization of the knowledge worker who feels completely free to employ his knowledge, experiences, ideas and talents anywhere in the world, in pursuit of material and professional goals, away from traditional religious, national and cultural considerations. This enabled the knowledge worker to reduce the idea of faith to the limits of science, and to expand the concept of nationalism to become global in dimensions that allow him to belong to any country that opens up the field for him to work and excel, and to embrace the idea of the free market as a space that allows him to invest the proceeds of his knowledge and talents. This made the cognitive worker a unique type of human being, combining a traditional nomadic life with industrial production and technological knowledge. While this knowledge worker moves from one company to another, and one country to another, he is constantly present in virtual communities that link him with his peers through professional and interest ties. People who have sufficient knowledge of both scientific and cultural aspects, which means that people who have a good education and adopt positive attitudes about work, time and life, have the ability to be aware of the reality of their life, and realize the importance of the opportunities that come to them from time to time and how to exploit them and get money, and climb the social ladder. On the other hand, whoever owns money from people, that is, whoever obtains wealth, whether through inheritance or work, has the ability to obtain a good education, which provides him with new and good opportunities for material gain, wealth and the strengthening of his social position. On the other hand, those who do not have a good education or money cannot compete with others and climb the social hierarchy, which leaves them living in isolated places dominated by misery, and sometimes dominated by poverty and crime. However, there are exceptions to this rule that usually come due to the extraordinary intelligence, ambition and ability of some people to seize the opportunities that arise from time to time.
Since the one who possesses wealth and knowledge sits comfortably at the top of the social pyramid and its slopes overlooking the world of imagination, thinking of nothing but how to develop his wealth and excel over his colleagues and neighbors, it is difficult for him to see the people sitting at the base of the pyramid, because the shadows of palaces and cement forests that cover most cities obscure them from him; Which made the ability of this rich man to feel what the poor feel almost non-existent. This means that the future is not only expected to witness the fragmentation of knowledge societies into the poor and the rich, but also into the ignorant and the educated. Quality education today enables educated people to get rewarding jobs, to live a free life of luxury, joy and hope, and to have more money every day. On the other hand, ignorance deprives the ignorant of the possibility of obtaining the job opportunities they need that enable them to live a decent life and guarantee a secure future for them. While this situation prevents them from climbing the social hierarchy, they are often condemned to live a life of poverty, misery and deprivation.
The fact that the relationship between wealth and knowledge is characterized by being dialectical based on mutual influence, makes it difficult for the poor to obtain a good education that enables him to get a good job and build up some wealth, while it makes it easy for the rich to get an excellent education that qualifies him to obtain good job opportunities and create more wealth. On the other hand, it is the nature of wealth to enable its owner to acquire sources of power, while power enables its owner to enjoy more freedom and influence the directions of change in society to serve his interests. On the other hand, the poor are characterized by being weak in power, and in the absence of power, the space of freedom in front of them shrinks, and it is difficult for them to change reality in a way that serves their interests. For example, the 62 richest people in the world own more than half of the world’s wealth, while the richest 1% of the world’s population owns more than the rest, which constitutes 99% of the world’s population.
In addition, statistics and information in America indicate that the income and wealth gaps between the rich and the poor have reached unprecedented proportions, and that today they are causing society to pivot in terms of social, economic and political aspects. In 1946, a person born into a poor family had a 50% chance of climbing the social ladder to the middle class and escaping from poverty, but this percentage declined to about 40% in 1980, and reached 33% in 2015, and it is still declining. As for Fortune magazine, it says: Although workers are currently more educated and productive than their parents, they are falling more and more behind their parents’ generation in most economic measures. More than half of Americans experience poverty at least once in their lives before reaching the age of 60.
A quick look at today’s world reveals to us very clearly that there is no knowledge society that suffers from poverty, and there is no rich society that suffers from ignorance, while there is no ignorant society that is not poor, and there is no poor society that is not ignorant. Poverty leads in most cases to ignorance, and the persistence of ignorance perpetuates poverty, while wealth leads in almost all cases to more knowledge, and knowledge in turn contributes to perpetuating wealth. With wealth come the causes of power, influence and domination, while with ignorance comes the factors of poverty, weakness and servility.
