Social issues in knowledge management and intellectual capital

Abstract

In recent years, Knowledge Management (KM) practices and Intellectual Capital (IC) as an asset became more and more important in the global economy. The aim of this paper is to analyse if, and how, KM and IC have contributed to the evolution of some old and well known social questions. These include class conflict and social policies. The paper is divided into five main sections: (1) Introduction; (2) Main concepts; (3) History and present situation; (4) Analysis; and (5) Conclusion. The two main ideas that will be put forward are the following: (1) IC dissemination and KM practices extension have drastically changed the nature of class conflict; (2) in order to became widely used, KM and IC need the backup of a strong and vast welfare state, which in turn is a characteristic of peaceful, developed and democratic societies wherein class conflict is somehow controlled.