Knowledge Economy

According to the textbook, the term "Knowledge economy" refers to the use of knowledge itself to provide benefit to the economy. This mostly includes things that have required an advance in technology and knowledge to achieve. Hence the term "Knowledge Economy." The conflict that arises here is that with knowledge and technology accelerating at such an alarming pace, millions of jobs are at stake, threatened to be replaced by machines or computers.

The knowledge economy term originated way back in the 1990's in New Zealand. This was right when high technology businesses that used new computer software, telecommunications, and virtual services were on the rise. The history of it really is quite elementary. We required more technology, and with technology comes knowledge. It seems only logical to name it a knowledge economy, as that really is what we thrive on.

The pros to this are quite obvious. Things get done more efficiently and with far less effort. Everything is constantly being improved, and at an exponentially faster rate. We're living in the future, and it's quite obvious to see. We have machines that make things far easier for people, and they're slowly getting cheaper and cheaper, and more and more advanced.

The cons are also very apparent, as well. The most obvious of which is that with all the new technology doing all new things, people are losing their jobs at an alarming rate. Everyone is being replaced by things that are far more efficient than them. If you look on TV, watch the show "How It's Made." You'll notice that many of the jobs are done by workers, but even more are done by machines. When I see certain jobs done by workers, I think to myself that machines could do it a lot better - and I bet they could, it's just that people want their jobs.

But, overall, I think it's a good thing. I think that our overall quality of life has been improved by the amount of knowledge that has become necessary in today's society. Also, we, the children, your future, are slowly getting more and more difficult schoolwork, mostly because they need us to maintain and improve our technology. Knowledge is power, and knowing is half the battle.