Is Knowledge Power?
Is Knowledge Power?
Humans are perpetual thinkers and doers. We ask questions, inquire about things and make decisions. Questions give rise to answers and answers lead the way to knowledge. A man who knows something has an advantage over the man who knows nothing. Knowledge of a subject gives us an edge over the others. Knowledge empowers the seeker to make informed decisions (Hall, 2001). It empowers us to be ready for the future and be able to control the anticipatory events (Brown, 1989). Power and strength without knowledge is absolute blind and a blind giant cannot win battles against an ordinary man who has sharp eyes.
The great thinker Francis Bacon once said that knowledge is power and he was not at all wrong while saying that. Knowledge can be defined as wakefulness of a fact, situation of subject. Knowledge is that possession that cannot be looted or stolen and it never gets decreased. It is evident in the history of world that people who have diverse range of knowledge and experience are the ones who have ruled the world with power and control in their hands (Power, Sharda and Burstein, 2015). Knowledge has empowered the humans to fly to the stars and moon, to fight deadly diseases, to win over space and to save the human race against any disaster or calamity if anticipated beforehand.
Another valuable contribution of knowledge is in the field of medicine. Gone are the days when people used to blame the malign influence of stars and spirits for illnesses and epidemics and would do irrational things to appease Gods and super natural powers (Rouse, 1987). But today, with the power of knowledge, men are able to know about the diseases, their causes, cures and preventive measures and this knowledge is saving them from dying so early. Similarly, knowledge is helping man in the field of agriculture. Knowledge about soil, seeds, demand and supply and other aspects of agriculture has enabled man to grow food and other things of his choice. With the man acquiring the understanding about animals, he is able to rear the beasts of the jungle. With all the knowledge inside him, man has become the ruler of the kingdom of animals and this nature (Rouse, 1987).
Man is no more ignorant. Thanks to the power of knowledge. We are today empowered to build up the most advanced civilization of times, for knowledge has lifted us up to the apex of power.
Knowledge is not Power
Knowledge is power? No! Knowledge was power, say in 1600s when the access to information was not so quick and easy. Knowledge was power in those times when information was not effortlessly available and distributed (Walker, 1981). Acquiring an information was a rare and expensive experience that would make the possessor of the information a powerful person. But today, when the people have a ‘buttery-soft’ access to information, thanks to mass media and cheaper communication technologies, even the specialized forms of knowledge are no more empowering (Reagans and Zuckerman, 2008).
According to Plato, pure knowledge can only be possessed by a soul only after the soul leaves the body since it is impossible for the corporeal entities to have the purest form of knowledge (Ravetz, 1990). This suggests that every living being possesses some sort of impure knowledge which can never empower you in true sense. The true knowledge holds in the reasoning and not the experiences, therefore, imparting knowledge and understanding must contain teaching of analytical skills and not just the facts (Gaventa and Cornwall, 2008). Because facts are incapable of exploring the truth and one who is not aware of the truth cannot experience power (Gordon and Grant, 2013).
Now, in agreement to what Anthony Robbins said that “Knowledge is not power, it is only potential power; the actual power bearer is the action,” one should keep actions above the knowledge (Power, Sharda and Burstein, 2015). Any knowledge that is confined to the four walls of brain and is not utilized outside the brain is good for nothing. A knowledge that is not applied for the well-being of the mankind is just like a weed that is growing but not beneficial for any purpose. And only when the knowledge is transformed into actions, it empowers the person. Therefore, action possesses the true power and not the knowledge (Power, Sharda and Burstein, 2015). Knowledge is necessary and critical but it is not the power, instead knowledge sharing is the power, action is the power. Let us exemplify this fact here. Assume that a person wants to make money while working on something on internet. For this, he may read many books, talk to many people and consult magazines, treatise and papers, but do you think any of the above could do anything? No, certainly not because no knowledge is beneficial if the person is not able to put it into real practice.
Also, sharing the knowledge empowers people to make timely and accurate decisions since the information is shared and travelled across silos. With the shared awareness emerges the shared purpose, which is well thought out and contains lot of inputs and insights. In an organization, sharing of information permits the workforce to remain proactive and has an edge over the competitor because now the workforce knows the shared definition of success. Decision making abilities is needed at every level of the organization so the most accurate information must travel across all levels so that the sound decisions are not just made at the top of the hierarchy, which is not applicable today (Power, Sharda and Burstein, 2015). This is because with the flow of information being too dynamic and fast, each and every level matters in an organization. No one would wait the topmost management to make decisions. This again makes the information sharing, powerful.
References
Brown, R.D., 1989. Knowledge is Power. Oxford University Press.
Gaventa, J. and Cornwall, A., 2008. Power and knowledge. The Sage handbook of action research: Participative inquiry and practice, pp.172-189.
Gordon, R. and Grant, D., 2013. Knowledge management or management of knowledge? Why people interested in knowledge management need to consider Foucault and the construct of power. Tamara Journal for Critical Organization Inquiry, 3(2).
Hall, S., 2001. Foucault: Power, knowledge and discourse. Discourse theory and practice: A reader, 72, p.81.
Power, D.J., Sharda, R. and Burstein, F., 2015. Decision support systems. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Ravetz, J.R., 1990. The merger of knowledge with power: Essays in critical science.
Reagans, R.E. and Zuckerman, E.W., 2008. Why knowledge does not equal power: the network redundancy trade-off. Industrial and Corporate Change,17(5), pp.903-944.
Rouse, J., 1987. Knowledge and power: Toward a political philosophy of science.
Townley, B., 1993. Foucault, power/knowledge, and its relevance for human resource management. Academy of Management review, 18(3), pp.518-545.
Walker, J.L., 1981. The diffusion of knowledge, policy communities and agenda setting: The relationship of knowledge and power. New strategic perspectives on social policy, pp.75-96.
