Rotta, Tomas and Teixeira, Rodrigo. 2018. The Commodification of Knowledge and Information. Working Paper. Greenwich Papers in Political Economy, London. [Report]

Preview

Text Rotta and Teixeira (2018) - The Commodification of Knowledge and Information - [20june2018] - GPERC wp3.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (495kB) | Preview

Abstract or Description

In this paper we present an analysis of the commodification of knowledge and information in contemporary capitalism. We provide a consistent account of how information as a commodity effects the workings of both capitalism and of Marxist theory. The first part of the paper critically revisits Marx’s own writings on the commodification of knowledge and how the immaterial labour hypothesis initially interpreted these writings. Based on the new categories knowledge-commodity and knowledge-rent, we then present our own approach in response to the challenges raised by the immaterial labour hypothesis. Lastly, we analyse the more recent contributions on the commodification of knowledge and information within the Marxist literature. The current debate on the value of knowledge has been divided between two camps: the reproduction cost approach, and the average cost approach. At the end of the paper we present empirical estimates of the magnitudes of knowledge-rents.

Item Type:	Report (Working Paper)
Additional Information:	JEL Codes: B51, L00, O30
Keywords:	Knowledge-commodities, knowledge-rents, value theory, Marx, immaterial labour
Departments, Centres and Research Units:	Institute of Management Studies Institute of Management Studies > Structural Economic Analysis
Date:	20 June 2018
Item ID:	26883
Date Deposited:	11 Sep 2019 14:04
Last Modified:	19 Feb 2024 16:31
URI:	https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/26883

View statistics for this item...

Edit Record (login required)