The Poverty of Anti-realism: Critical Perspectives on Postmodernist Philosophy of History

Knowledge has become a key battleground for economic and political power, with strong intellectual property rights concentrating economic benefits in a smaller number of hands and the "internet of things" reshaping basic notions of property, ownership, and control. Governments and companies are engaging in ever-more surveillance to create and control data and intellectual property, leading to a massive redistribution of power. Haggart and Tusikov propose a workable path forward—knowledge decommodification—to ensure that our new knowledge is not treated as a commodity to be bought and sold but as a way to meet the needs of the individuals and communities that create it.

Format: Hardback
Length: 246 pages
Publication date: 05 September 2023
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Control over knowledge, particularly data and intellectual property, has become a critical battleground for economic and political power in the global geopolitical arena and the smart city. Companies and governments alike are striving to gain control over the knowledge structure, which is leading to a massive redistribution of power. Strong intellectual property rights have concentrated economic benefits in a smaller number of hands, while the "internet of things" is reshaping basic notions of property, ownership, and control. Governments and companies are engaging in ever-more surveillance in the scramble to create and control data and intellectual property. This open access book is a guide to and analysis of these changes, and of the emerging phenomenon of the knowledge-driven society. It highlights how the pursuit of control over knowledge has become its own ideology, with its own set of experts drawn from those with the ability to collect and manipulate digital data. Haggart and Tusikov propose a workable path forward—knowledge decommodification—to ensure that our new knowledge is not treated simply as a commodity to be bought and sold, but as a way to meet the needs of the individuals and communities that create this knowledge in the first place. The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

Weight: 522g
Dimension: 239 x 159 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781666933628