Knowledge Productivity Studies

We are living in a transformation age, where transformation has been taking place politically, economically, culturally, and even in human himself. Such a transformation originates from the change in productivity: the occurrence of knowledge productivity. This new reality of productivity requires us to make an exploratory research into knowledge productivity. From the point of Marxist materialist view, this paper analyses the new phenomena of contemporary productivity, gives the definition of knowledge productivity, and tries to find how knowledge productivity comes into place, how it works and what it means to us, then make an exploration into its presence in China and give my own suggestions of developing knowledge productivity in China. The paper is divided into six parts.The introduction discusses the possibility of building a theory of knowledge productivity based on the review of and reflection on two western traditional research into knowledge: the theory of knowledge and the sociology of knowledge, and the analysis of the challenges facing the traditional understanding of Marxist productivity theory. The paper points out the association of the research of knowledge with Marxist theory of productivity, and then introduces my own view of building a theory of knowledge productivity. The theory of knowledge regards those metaphysical questions as its researching objects such as the essence of, the potentiality of and the reliability of knowledge. While the sociology of knowledge in modern times regards the value of knowledge and its social relations as its focus, but it never gets rid of the influence of speculative philosophy. With the development of knowledge economy, neither the theory of knowledge nor the sociology of knowledge can explain the new reality. The scientific theory of productivity founded by Marx in the 19th century, provides theoretical guide for us to correctly realize productivity, knowledge and the status and function of which in productivity. However, because the Marxist theory of productivity was dogmatically oriented in the past, and with the development of modern knowledge and modern productivity, the traditional understanding of Marxist productivity theory is confronted with more and more challenges .The weakness in western knowledge research and traditional theory of productivity leaves a wide room for us to make a deeper research into knowledge productivity. The theory of knowledge economy, which is the research into knowledge at an angle of economics, has offered a basis of the research into knowledge productivity.Chapter One explores the formation of knowledge productivity. The formation of knowledge productivity, which is owing to both the evolutionary outcome of human mentality and the development of productivity, and the overall combined influence of economy, politics and social conditions. Knowledge productivity finishes its formation from the application of limited experiential knowledge in agricultural society, the materialization of knowledge as machines in industrial society to the productivity directly made by knowledge in knowledge society. During such a process, the development of material productivity, the structural change of human needs, and the environmental restraint of human development and the knowledge revolution made by the information technology are the forming conditions of knowledge productivity. Knowledge productivity is a kind of productivity based on knowledge, which means the knowledge is the leading factor of productivity, and the resource of increasing productivity and the precursor of productive development. In a word, knowledge productivity is a humanistic and sustainable productivity which is globally at work, and which takes developed market economy as its system basis, informationization as its precondition on the basis of producing, spreading and applying knowledge.Chapter Two discusses the nature of knowledge productivity. It begins with the analysis of knowledge. Knowledge is both the reflection of reality by mind and the practical c...