Voices from silicon valley expose the polarization of knowledge in the information age

Abstract

The article is part of a research agenda that adopts the lenses of Political Economy to discuss the following question. What is the role of information and knowledge in the socioeconomic dynamics of the twenty-first century? Firstly, the article confronts two different theoretical perspectives: the cognitive capitalism and the polarization of knowledge approaches. Given the lack of agreement between these interpretations, the article also presents some results of an empirical investigation conducted in Silicon Valley (California), where semi-structured interviews with local workers’ representatives were adopted as an instrument of investigation. The voices of those who live the reality represented by the theories expose some contradictions in the local educational system, where the phenomenon of polarization of knowledge strengthens socioeconomic inequalities.

Keywords

• polarization of knowledge
• silicon valley
• education
• cognitive capitalism