Information, power, and democracy : liberty is a daughter of knowledge / Nico Stehr, Zeppelin University.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stehr, Nico, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Liberty.

Power (Social sciences).

Democracy.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (ix, 407 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Other Title:

Information, Power, & Democracy

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2016.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

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.

Contents:

Cover; Half-title ; Title page ; Copyright information ; Table of contents ; List of figures ; List of tables ; Introduction ; The genealogy of the relation between knowledge and liberties ; Knowledge enhances democracy ; The tension between knowledge and freedom

Competing accounts of democratization Should knowledge be the operative factor? ; Knowledgeability ; The sociohistorical context of modern democracies ; 1 Coming to terms ; Knowledge: a capacity for action? ; Transforming knowledge into processes and (processed) things

Which knowledge is meant, and why? Information and knowledge ; Why should knowledge or information be a political asset? ; Democracy: who rules? ; Liberty: which liberty is meant? ; Freedom from and freedom for ; Political liberty ; Economic freedom ; Social or civil liberties

The problem of power Excursus: How much knowledge does democracy need, and how expensive should it be? ; 2 Accounts of the conditions for the possibility and the resilience of liberty ; Knowledge and liberties ; The role of formal education (schooling)

The social phenomenon of knowledgeability as a form of soft power Knowledgeability as a bundle of competencies ; Civil society organizations ; Political culture ; The role of the ''media'' ; The nation-state and democracy ; Intergovernmental networks

3 The economic order ensures (defeats) liberty

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 10 Dec 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-316-46714-7

1-316-46864-X

1-316-46889-5

1-316-46939-5

1-316-46914-X

1-316-47039-3

1-316-34315-4