The Role of Knowledge in Contemporary Society - Essay Example

The world that we live in is changing at a pace faster than we can imagine. Opinions differ on the extent of change and the impact that it has created. The society today is known as the ‘knowledge society’ and it is this knowledge that has brought about the change. While some consider it beneficial and desirable, others feel it has increased tension and anxiety amongst the people. While some find it has provided opportunities others see it as a threat. ‘Knowledge society’ is a term that explains the importance of knowledge in the contemporary society. While knowledge has always existed, in the traditional society it was established knowledge. Knowledge society on the other hand refers to the change in knowledge in different fields like political, economical, social and cultural life. Knowledge is essential for every activity in life be it in the form of sophisticated academic knowledge in the form of text books like medical science to common sense like how to look after ourselves and our children. The speed at which knowledge is produced and disseminated across the globe has been the root cause of the change taking place in the society. Knowledge in the contemporary society takes different forms and it is created and disseminated through multiple sites. To conduct their daily lives, people seek knowledge on health, jobs and relationships. There are numerous advisers and counselors available apart from the myriad of information available on the internet. Experts are known by different high-sounding names like therapists and planners. Even in spiritualism and healthcare there is virtually knowledge explosion. In the field of technology, enormous changes in people’s lives can be seen. The personal computer externally looks the same and is made of the same metals that it was same say 5 years ago but is much more powerful. The input of human intelligence added to it ahs rendered it powerful. Technology is used to reduce costs in manufacturing sector, in marketing and distribution. Technology has led foreign firms to outsource their back-office operations to distant lands like India. Local firms now have global networks. Communication technologies have rendered distant and size of corporations insignificant. Economic changes have brought about changes in consumption pattern, increased purchasing power in the hands of the people and the markets have become consumer-driven. Despite all these changes and advancements, knowledge society has created a risk society which is associated with the growth of the knowledge systems. In the pre-industrial society risks took the form of natural disasters like earthquakes, drought and plague but today people know that they are in danger. This knowledge itself creates fear in them which leads to anxiety and tensions. Risks are now dependent on technology and the acts of individuals or of the society. For instance the disaster of Chernobyl and the Bhopal gas tragedy cannot be termed as acts of God but are the result of human negligence. Industrial politics too have changed and the traditional political ideologies are unable to cope with the threats that cross traditional boundaries. Technology has led to environmental degradation and little is being done to control pollution. The fishing industry suffers from the risk of pollution while the nuclear industry benefits from generation of risks. Hence the dichotomy continues as a result of increase in knowledge. Knowledge has led to increase in the levels of crime, anti-social behavior and incivility. Transition has taken place between a secure, low-crime society to an uncertain society at risk from an epidemic of crimes and social unrest. Community policing has been replaced by riot shields to bring peace in the society. Sexual violence and child abuse are rampant and the police are either incapable of controlling or have become part of the problem. The reasons for increase in crimes are associated with human behavior which is never purely self-determined. Humans live under constraints, pressures, rules and established beliefs. In the 19th century it was believed that brain size and the skull shapes could explain criminal behavior. In the 20th century it was argued that the criminals possessed incurable genetic defects. These threatened the moral values and the fibre of social order. While biology may shape how responsive the human brain is to the messages of criminality, but there is some agency that is responsible for creating and transmitting these messages. Criminal offenders exhibit socially disruptive behavior at an early age. They possess poor reasoning abilities and experience a troubled family life due to lack of parental love. The society appears to be both seduced and repulsed by crimes and criminals as these acts involve risk-taking and challenges to the normal way of doing things. There is a culture of fear about crime but also a culture of fascination. The knowledge in the society has increased about crimes as abundance of literature is available and the people are fascinated and attracted by such stories. Social change has led to declining moral standards and fears about crime mirror a sense of increased risk and uncertainty about other forms of social change that are only partially related to crime. To a large extent media is responsible for disseminating information and making people aware of the possibilities and forms of crime. Again, because people know of the crimes and criminals, anxiety and fear have arisen in the contemporary society. Globalization means differently to different people. While it provides opportunities to many people, it has also caused impoverishment to many groups and societies. Globalization has led to rapid and sudden changes in information and communications, which too has advantages and pitfalls. There are conflicting stands on this issue. Globalization has brought about competition, liberalization, deregulation, and privatization and opened up capital markets but at the same time it has undermined the economic prospects for millions around the world. The gap between the rich and the poor has increased. The benefits and costs of globalization are unevenly distributed across the world. Apart from the economic disparity, the feminist writers too have brought about the knowledge in the society the gender inequality. Women have been vulnerable to the market policies and their role remains unrecognized. It ahs been argued that cash-crop agriculture is largely dependent on women through their subsistence farming and household production. The lower paid women make up for the workforce in the developing countries. Ample literature is available which shows that women have been subject to such discrimination due to lack of education. Migration is also an outcome of globalization which leads to dislocation of families and increase in prostitution of women. Despite the pitfalls, globalization has brought about significant changes in the global economy and there have been opportunities for the advancements of women’ rights in cooperation across frontiers. What matters is that the term globalization has been embraced by politicians, academics, journalists and commentators. Knowledge on the subject in the society has increased because evidence on both for and against globalization is available. The way knowledge is presented by the journalists, politicians and the economists to the society, the framework is created in the minds of the people. Because the feminist writers have written about the gender inequalities, even women and societies that were unaware have now risen against inequality. In attempting to fight against a cause, the society tends to lose its direction under external influence. There is more information available about drugs and drug control policies have been framed. Even those who were not aware of such trade, become conscious. Knowledge or knowing creates the damage not only to the society but has contributed to the reconfiguration of the power and authority of the national governments. Globalization has brought about great changes in lifestyle and people feel they are more in control of their lives. They want to improve and maintain good health. In the contemporary society health has become a matter of individual choice and reflects our initiative, adaptability and strength. Good health is associated with self-discipline. People today lead a sedentary life and consume unhealthy products abundantly available in the markets. To abstain from the temptations requires self-control, is how the people look at it. This again implies that knowing that certain products are available in the market they need to restrain and impose self-control. The primitive society had no choices and hence did not have to exercise self-control and still led healthy lives naturally. In the contemporary society, health is a state to be achieved. Thus it can be concluded that people in the contemporary society are certainly more knowledgeable than earlier but this knowing has only added to their woes and tensions. They need to make informed choices to lead a decent life; they need to abstain. Knowledge brings power, and it has empowered the women to fight for equality thereby increasing tensions in their life and changing their roles from being homemakers to women of status in society. Crimes have increased manifold and the main reason is because people are aware because of information the ways in which crimes can be carried out. In fact people even find reading such stories fascinating. Faster access to information and technology are the main causes of the anxiety and disturbance in the contemporary society. Read More