The social and political control of knowledge in modern societies*

Abstract

This paper is conceived as part of a line of inquiry into the reasons for controlling novel scientific knowledge, and the ways of doing so, by major social institutions within and across modern societies. The sociology of knowledge always had an interest in the social role of knowledge (power based on knowledge), its transformation and its carriers (experts, intellectuals, cognitive elites). However, the primary knowledge‐guiding interest of the sociology of knowledge traditionally has been on questions concerned with the production and not the consumption of knowledge. The emerging focus of sociology of knowledge inquiry should be with issues that may be designated as “knowledge politics”. I will first describe and delineate the notion of knowledge politics as a new field of political activity. When it comes to the utilisation of new capacities for action (that is, knowledge) knowledge politics does not have to be restrictive a priori; my focus, however, will be on efforts to anticipate the effects of new knowledge on social relations, and attempts to control its impact. Second, I will delineate some of the main reasons why knowledge politics gains prominence as a field of political activity in modern societies. I will stress, in particular, changing relations between science and society. In a third section of the paper, the distinction between knowledge and science policies will be introduced. Before concluding the discussion with a brief outlook, I will sketch some pertinent episodes that illustrate knowledge politics in action.