Nico Stehr

Addressing the complex interplay between climate change, democratic governance, and scientific knowledge in the Anthropocene era, this book focuses on how political systems respond to the global ecological crisis and to what extent they are structurally capable of doing so. The World We Have Created: Climate, Democracy, and Knowledge details how the de-democratization of ecological decision-making favors models of authoritarian governance, as democratic values such as transparency, participation, and accountability are continually undermined. Offering a robust account of the responses to the climate crisis and the necessary social and political changes posed by the scientific consensus, this book analyses the growing discrepancy between scientific knowledge about the causes and consequences of climate change and the lack of political and social willingness to implement necessary measures. Comprehensive social change is needed that focuses on social justice, intergenerational responsibility, and political participation, and it is only by strengthening democratic structures and integrating knowledge into responsible governance can we open paths to a resilient, just, and liveable future. This sharp, interdisciplinary intervention bridges sociological, political, and philosophical thinking to underline the necessity of hope and utopian social imagination together with concrete changes to the constitution that guarantees a safe environment for future generations.

Addressing the complex interplay between climate change, democratic governance, and scientific knowledge in the Anthropocene era, this book focuses on how political systems respond to the global ecological crisis and to what extent they are structurally capable of doing so. The World We Have Created: Climate, Democracy, and Knowledge details how the de-democratization of ecological decision-making favors models of authoritarian governance, as democratic values such as transparency, participation, and accountability are continually undermined. Offering a robust account of the responses to the climate crisis and the necessary social and political changes posed by the scientific consensus, this book analyses the growing discrepancy between scientific knowledge about the causes and consequences of climate change and the lack of political and social willingness to implement necessary measures. Comprehensive social change is needed that focuses on social justice, intergenerational responsibility, and political participation, and it is only by strengthening democratic structures and integrating knowledge into responsible governance can we open paths to a resilient, just, and liveable future. This sharp, interdisciplinary intervention bridges sociological, political, and philosophical thinking to underline the necessity of hope and utopian social imagination together with concrete changes to the constitution that guarantees a safe environment for future generations.

Society and Knowledge in a Turbulent Era explores the pivotal role of knowledge in contemporary society. Nico Stehr emphasizes its importance in social theory, economic systems and global challenges, particularly in the context of the knowledge economy and knowledge capitalism.Adopting a diagnostic theoretical approach to analyze rapidly changing societal conditions, Stehr argues that knowledge is both a resource and a source of power, shaping social hierarchies and economic structures. He addresses key issues such as global knowledge distribution, social inequality, and the existential threat of climate change. The book bridges multiple disciplines, confronting distinct yet interrelated dimensions of knowledge in society. Chapters discuss the commodification of knowledge, intellectual property regimes, and the rise of artificial intelligence as drivers of economic and social inequality. Stehr showcases the tension between the long- and short-term, and recognizes the importance of looking ahead to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss.This book is especially important for academics and students of sociology, political science, and economics. Environmental and climate scientists, policy analysts, governance experts, and historians of capitalism and modernity will also benefit from its insights.

Understanding Society and Knowledge proposes that knowledge, rather than nature, violence, or power, provides the basis of and driving force behind human action in modern society. It demonstrates how the legal containment of knowledge enables the transformation of the knowledge society into knowledge capitalism. Providing an overview of the history of knowledge societies, Nico Stehr analyses the concept of knowledge as well as the nature of post-industrial societies. Chapters examine the genealogy of social scientific theories of modern society; the role of knowledge as a capacity to act or as an intersubjective resource; and recent changes in the structure of the material economy. The book concludes by discussing the political challenges of the knowledge society, highlighting the ways in which discoveries in modern knowledge and subsequent political responses continue to generate controversies. This illuminating book will be an essential resource for students and scholars of economics, political science, sociology and sociological theory, as well as science and technology studies.

Als die Autoren – über die Grenzen zweier Wissenschaftskulturen hinweg – Anfang der 90er Jahre begannen, über die wissenschaftliche und populäre Wahrnehmung und Konstruktion des Phänomens Klima, Klimawandel, Klimapolitik und die Auswirkungen des Klimas auf die Gesellschaft nachzudenken, stießen sie auf erheblichen Widerstand, insbesondere als sie über die dringende Notwendigkeit einer gesellschaftlichen Anpassung an den Klimawandel schrieben. Die Autoren sehen sich als Pioniere in diesem Politikfeld. Viele, wenn nicht die meisten Maßnahmen für den Klimaschutz und gegen die Klimafolgen erfordern die Innovationskraft aller Wissenschaften und der Technik. Die künftige Umsetzung wissenschaftlicher Erkenntnisse in der Klimapolitik ist Schlüssel des erfolgreichen Umgangs der Gesellschaft mit den Folgen des Klimawandels. Dies geschieht jedoch nicht automatisch. Die Umsetzung von Wissenschaft in die Gesellschaft unterliegt ökonomischen, politischen und kulturellen Zwängen, und kann insbesondere durch den Mehrwert interdisziplinärer Zusammenarbeit von Wissenschaftlern, wie sie in diesem Band praktiziert wird, erreicht werden.

Die zentrale These des Buches lautet, dass nicht Natur, Unfälle, Gewalt, Katastrophen, Macht usw., sondern Wissen mehr denn je die Grundlage und Richtschnur menschlichen Handelns in allen Bereichen unserer Gesellschaft ist. Diese Untersuchung über Wissensgesellschaften ist daher als Antwort auf die grundlegende Beobachtung geschrieben, dass die moderne Wissenschaft keineswegs nur, wie heute noch oft angenommen wird, der Schlüssel und Zugang zu den Geheimnissen der Natur und des menschlichen Verhaltens ist, sondern vor allem das Werden einer Welt: Wissen als Motor und nicht nur als Kamera. Diese beispiellose Bedeutung des wissenschaftlichen Wissens bedeutet jedoch nicht, dass es ihm gelingen wird, traditionelle Lebensweisen und Einstellungen einfach zu überrollen, wie immer wieder erhofft oder ernsthaft befürchtet. Gleichzeitig sind Wissensgesellschaften keine soziale Formation im Stillstand. Die Dynamik des Wirtschaftssystems von Wissensgesellschaften, die Hand in Hand mit der Verrechtlichung von Wissen als der wichtigsten Ressource von Wissensgesellschaften geht, führt unmittelbar zur Transformation der Wissensgesellschaft in einen Wissenskapitalismus."Nico Stehrs Moderne Wissensgesellschaften verstehen ist die Art von Buch über die Wissenssoziologie, die Max Weber hätte schreiben können, wenn er noch hundert Jahre gelebt hätte. Stehr spiegelt und aktualisiert Webers Fähigkeit, die relevante Literatur in den Bereichen Recht, Politik und Wirtschaft - sowie Soziologie - zusammenzuführen, um ein übergeordnetes sozialwissenschaftliches Verständnis der Natur des Wissens zu erreichen. Sowohl Theoretiker als auch politische Entscheidungsträger werden hier viel Stoff zum Nachdenken finden, da Stehr seine größeren und abstrakteren Behauptungen geschickt mit pointierten Illustrationen aus Berichten über aktuelle Ereignisse durchsetzt." Steve Fuller, Auguste Comte Lehrstuhl für soziale Erkenntnistheorie, Universität Warwick, UK "In seinem neuen Buch geht der bekannte Soziologe Nico Stehr auf der Grundlage jahrzehntelanger Forschung der These nach, dass wir in einer Wissensgesellschaft leben. Eine der vielen interessanten Fragen, die er erörtert, ist, ob die Wissensgesellschaft sich in einen Wissenskapitalismus verwandeln wird und was das bedeutet." Richard Swedberg, Professor em. Cornell Universität, USA "Die enormen Veränderungen der Wissensproduktion und -verbreitung im letzten halben Jahrhundert, die extreme Komplexität und die Gefahren der sozialen und biophysikalischen Probleme, die sich aus ihrer Anwendung ergeben haben, und die daraus resultierende Notwendigkeit, große politische Veränderungen zu planen, machen dies zu einem besonders wichtigen Zeitpunkt, um das Verhältnis von Wissen und Gesellschaft neu zu überdenken. Nico Stehrs prägnante und doch umfassende Analyse der modernen Wissensgesellschaften im intellektuellen, sozio-historischen und politisch-ökonomischen Kontext bietet eine prägnante, ganzheitliche Darstellung der wichtigsten Fragen, um die es geht. Sein Buch Gesellschaft und Wissen verstehen wird einem breiten Spektrum von Lesern, die sich für die grundlegenden Veränderungen des gesellschaftlichen Wissens interessieren, die sich auf unser Leben und unsere Welt auswirken, zugänglich sein und zum kritischen Nachdenken anregen." Robert J. Antonio, Chancellor's Club Teaching Professor, Universität von Kansas, USA "Nico Stehrs neues Buch erörtert die grundlegende Frage nach dem Verhältnis von Wissen und Kapitalismus. Diese Frage wird eingehend erörtert. Stehr geht auf eine Vielzahl damit verbundener Themen ein, wie z.B. das Wesen der postindustriellen Gesellschaften und des Spätkapitalismus; Wissen als soziales Verhältnis, als Ware und als Produktivkraft; der Schutz von Wissen durch Patente und andere rechtliche Schutzinstrumente. Stehr geht dann auf die Anstrengungen ein, die unternommen wurden, um zusätzliches oder inkrementelles Wissen national und/oder international zu kontrollieren, da das Wachstum des Wissens und seine zunehmende gesellschaftliche Verbreitung paradoxerweise größere Unsicherheit und Kontingenz erzeugen. Ein wesentlicher Teil einer Politik des Wissens wird sich daher mit den Folgen der gesellschaftlichen Verteilung von Wissen beschäftigen müssen. Dies ist ein bahnbrechendes Werk, das einen wichtigen Beitrag zur Diskussion und Bewertung des kapitalistischen Wissens leistet." Sandro Segre, Professor für Soziologie, Universität von Genua, Italien

In his newest book, Stehr builds on his classic book Knowledge Societies (1994) to expand the concept toward one of knowledge capitalism for a now, much-changed era. It is not only because of the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic that we are living in a new epoch; it is the idea that modern societies increasingly constitute comprehensive knowledge societies under intensive capitalism, whereby the legal encoding of knowledge through national and international law is the lever that enables the transformation of the knowledge society into knowledge capitalism. The Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights agreement, negotiated between 1986 and 1994 as part of the World Trade Organization, is the backbone of the modern society and marks a clear historical demarcation, and although knowledge capitalism is primarily an economic development, the digital giants who are in the driver’s seat have significant effects on the social structure and culture of modern society.

In his newest book, Stehr builds on his classic book Knowledge Societies (1994) to expand the concept toward one of knowledge capitalism for a now, much-changed era. It is not only because of the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic that we are living in a new epoch; it is the idea that modern societies increasingly constitute comprehensive knowledge societies under intensive capitalism, whereby the legal encoding of knowledge through national and international law is the lever that enables the transformation of the knowledge society into knowledge capitalism. The Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights agreement, negotiated between 1986 and 1994 as part of the World Trade Organization, is the backbone of the modern society and marks a clear historical demarcation, and although knowledge capitalism is primarily an economic development, the digital giants who are in the driver’s seat have significant effects on the social structure and culture of modern society.

Since the publication of Georg Simmel’s Philosophy of Money more than a century ago, social science has primarily considered money a medium of exchange. This new book treats money as a more inclusive social concept that has profoundly influenced the emergence of modern society. Money is also a moral and political category. It communicates prices and thus embodies innumerable evaluations and judgments of objects and services, of social relationships and associations.At the same time, modern societies are undergoing fundamental transformations in which money assumes an ever-important role, while banking and financial services constitute the new primary sector of modern service economies. In this book, the authors trace the transformational scope of monetarization and financialization along the four classical productive forces—land, capital, labor, and knowledge—and evaluate the consequences of an irrepressible urge to quantify and monetarize almost everything social. What happens to a society in which the tangible products of the real economy lose their preeminent status, and everything is judged purely according to its economic value? The authors identify an increasing disconnect between market prices and social values with serious social, political, economic, and environmental consequences.

Since the publication of Georg Simmel’s Philosophy of Money more than a century ago, social science has primarily considered money a medium of exchange. This new book treats money as a more inclusive social concept that has profoundly influenced the emergence of modern society. Money is also a moral and political category. It communicates prices and thus embodies innumerable evaluations and judgments of objects and services, of social relationships and associations.At the same time, modern societies are undergoing fundamental transformations in which money assumes an ever-important role, while banking and financial services constitute the new primary sector of modern service economies. In this book, the authors trace the transformational scope of monetarization and financialization along the four classical productive forces—land, capital, labor, and knowledge—and evaluate the consequences of an irrepressible urge to quantify and monetarize almost everything social. What happens to a society in which the tangible products of the real economy lose their preeminent status, and everything is judged purely according to its economic value? The authors identify an increasing disconnect between market prices and social values with serious social, political, economic, and environmental consequences.

Climate has for a long time been a taken-for-granted background against which social, political and economic interactions have taken place. But this taken-for-granted background is cleaving. It is becoming hard to ignore the potential repercussions of a changing climate, and the uneven impact of certain forms of human society and energy cultures that risk undermining their own environmental conditions.In a comprehensive and accessible way, this book:

Who Owns Knowledge? explores the emerging linkages between the extension of knowledge and the law. It anticipates that the legal system will not only be called upon to adjudicate in matters of creative minds, but will be expected to do so to an ever increasing degree.Linkages between the legal system and knowledge are bound to multiply in modern societies. Ironically, while increasingly relying on knowledge, we are simultaneously investing significant resources into controlling this same knowledge. This includes developing a system of legal governance over how knowledge is extended or enlarged. Such modes of governance may take the form of regulatory legal codes, or legal challenges and judgments that shape the evolution of modern society and potentially transform knowledge itself, as a productive force. Who Owns Knowledge? asks such questions as: What is the appropriate balance of public and private interests involved in this process? How can creative powers, natural resources and indigenous knowledge be protected from either public or private exploitation? Does the law have the power to prevent this exploitation, or is adaptive technology needed? Also, in this identity theft conscious age, how can the rights of the individual be protected against policies allowing access to any kind of information, especially confidential information? The editors and contributors demonstrate that the relationship between knowledge and the law needs to be further researched and discussed. Who Owns Knowledge? is a must-read for those interested in the subjects of intellectual property, the history and development of modern legal and economic systems and their entanglements, and how judicial systems make choices between the legal and economic systems and, especially, between the public and private good and their often opposing interests.

"While other books have addressed isolated aspects of recent developments in the biomedical sciences, Biotechnology: Between Commerce and Civil Society is the first book tgo engage with the full range of biotechnology's implications for social science and for society at large." -Professor Volker MejaNew scientific knowledge is no longer merely the key to unlocking the secrets of nature and society. It now represents the "becoming" of a new world. Scientific developments affect the ways in which we conduct our affairs, as well as how we comprehend the changes underway as the result of novel technical artefacts and scientific knowledge. The practical fruits of biotechnology are a case in point; they have grasped our imaginations, and generated worldwide debate and concern. Debates on biotechnology shift between images of utopia and dystopia. The social sciences deserve a voice in the debate, and can do so through sober examination of the economic, social, and cultural implications of biotechnology. Some economists even predict that the importance of biotechnology as the technology of the future will far exceed that of the information technologies, in particular the Internet. The contributors to this volume are drawn from a broad spectrum of the social sciences, and include Nico Stehr, Gene Rosa, Steve Fuller, Steve Best and Douglas Kellner, Nikolas Rose, Fred Buttel, Javier Lezaun, Anne Kerr, Susanna Hornig Priest and Toby Ten Eyck, Martin Schulte, Alexander Somek, Steven P. Vallas, Daniel Lee Kleinman, Abby Kinchy and Raul Necochea, Herbert Gottweis, J. Rogers Hollingsworth, Gysli Pblsson, Elizabeth Ettore, Richard Hindmarch and Reiner Grundmann. The impact of science on society is destined to be a fundamental concern in the new century. This volume illustrates the contributions anthropology, law, political science, and sociology can make to the ongoing discussions about the role of biotechnology in modern societies. Nico Stehr is senior research associate, Institut for Technikfolgenabschotzung, Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe and Institut for Kostenforschung, GKSS, Germany. He also is a fellow in the Center for Advanced Cultural Studies in Essen, Germany, editor of the Canadian Journal of Sociology, and a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. Among his recent books are Werner Sombart: Economic Life in the Modern Age (with Reiner Grundmann, published by Transaction); The Fragility of Modern Societies: Knowledge and Risk in the Information Age; Knowledge and Economic Conduct: The Social Foundations of the Modern Economy; and Wissenspolitik: Die ?berwachung des Wissens.

The relationship of knowledge and liberties in modern societies presents a multitude of fascinating issues that deserve to be explored more systematically. The production of knowledge is dynamic, and the conditions and practice of freedom is undergoing transformation. These changes ensure that the linkages between liberty and knowledge are always subject to changes. In the past, the connection between scientific knowledge, democracy, and emancipation seemed self-evident. More recently, the close linkage between democracy and knowledge has been viewed with skepticism.This volume explores the relationship between knowledge and democracy, Do they support each other, do they mutually depend on each other, or are they perhaps even in conflict with each other? Does knowledge increase the freedom to act? If additional knowledge contributes to individual and social well being, does it also enhance freedoms? Knowledge and Democracy focuses on the interpenetration of knowledge, freedom and democracy, and does so from various perspectives, theoretical as well as practical.Modern societies are transforming themselves into knowledge societies. This has a fundamental impact on political systems and the relationship of citizens to large social institutions. The contributors to this book systemically explore whether, and in what ways, these modern-day changes and developments are connected to expansion of the capacities of individual citizens to act. They focus on the interrelation of democracy and knowledge, and the role of democratic institutions, as well as on the knowledge and social conduct of actors within democratic institutions. In the process of investigation, they arrive at a new platform for future research and theory, one that is sensitive to present-day societal conflicts, cleavages, and transformations generated by new knowledge. In this way, this volume will attract the interest of political scientists, sociologists, economists and students within various disciplines.

Social surveillance and regulation of knowledge will be one of the most important issues in the near future, one that will give rise to unending controversy. In The Governance of Knowledge, Nico Stehr predicts that such concerns will create a new political field, namely, knowledge policy, which will entail regulating dissemination of the anticipated results of rapidly increasing knowledge. The number and range of institutionalized standards for monitoring new knowledge has hitherto been relatively small. Only in cases of technological applications has social control, in the form of political regulation, so far intervened. All modern societies today have complex regulations and extensive concerns with the registration, licensing, testing, and monitoring of pharmaceutical products. The increasingly important and extensive area of intellectual property legislation and administration is an example of social control in which certain measures selectively determine the use of scientific finds and technical knowledge. The Governance of Knowledge assembles a range of essays that attempt to explore the new field of knowledge politics for the first time. It is divided into four parts: The Emergence of Knowledge Politics: Origins, Context, and Consequences; Major Social Institutions and Knowledge Politics; Case Studies on the Governance of Knowledge; and Issues in Knowledge Politics as a New Political Field. Individual chapters concern the emergence of knowledge policy, the embeddedness of such regulations in major social institutions, and offer case studies of the governance of knowledge and discuss controversial issues that are bound to accompany efforts to regulate new knowledge. Professionals and graduate students in the fields of scoiology, political science, social science, and law, including policymakers and natural scientists, will find this book extremely informative.

As we move through our modern world, the phenomenon we call knowledge is always involved. Whether we talk of know-how, technology, innovation, politics or education, it is the concept of knowledge that ties them all together. But despite its ubiquity as a modern trope we seldom encounter knowledge in itself. How is it produced, where does it reside, and who owns it? Is knowledge always beneficial, will we know all there is to know at some point in the future, and does knowledge really equal power? This book pursues an original approach to this concept that seems to define so many aspects of modern societies. It explores the topic from a distinctly sociological perspective, and traces the many ways that knowledge is woven into the very fabric of modern society.

As we move through our modern world, the phenomenon we call knowledge is always involved. Whether we talk of know-how, technology, innovation, politics or education, it is the concept of knowledge that ties them all together. But despite its ubiquity as a modern trope we seldom encounter knowledge in itself. How is it produced, where does it reside, and who owns it? Is knowledge always beneficial, will we know all there is to know at some point in the future, and does knowledge really equal power? This book pursues an original approach to this concept that seems to define so many aspects of modern societies. It explores the topic from a distinctly sociological perspective, and traces the many ways that knowledge is woven into the very fabric of modern society.

The link between liberty and knowledge is neither static nor simple. Until recently the mutual support between knowledge, science, democracy and emancipation was presupposed. Recently, however, the close relationship between democracy and knowledge has been viewed with skepticism. The growing societal reliance on specialized knowledge often appears to actually undermine democracy. Is it that we do not know enough, but that we know too much? What are the implications for the freedom of societies and their citizens? Does knowledge help or heed them in unraveling the complexity of new challenges? This book systematically explores the shifting dynamics of knowledge production and the implications for the conditions and practices of freedom. It considers the growth of knowledge about knowledge and the impact of an evolving media. It argues for a revised understanding of the societal role of knowledge and presents the concept of 'knowledge societies' as a major resource for liberty.