Knowledge Production in a Cooperative Economy

Abstract

Knowledge here means something similar to but broader than science — it is reliable but not necessarily as systematic or explicit. A cooperative economy is contrasted with the competitive economy that has dominated political thinking almost everywhere for about half a century — the neo-liberal period. It is argued that the neo-liberal ideology and its economic ideas and practices are unjust and unsustainable. A model for a cooperative economy is described which would be more just and sustainable. Three main features of the model are outlined — basic income, asset and income limits, and a concept of work that counts all activity useful to human well-being rather than counting monetary profit. Knowledge in such an economy is considered in four main stages: production, review, dissemination and use. It is argued that, in the described cooperative economy, these stages would proceed more efficiently and lead to human well-being.