Aims and Origins
Knowledge Politics was launched in late 2006 by a group of current and former students of the Department of Politics at the University of Sheffield.
The organisation describes its work as being "dedicated to exploring the implications and possibilities of the development of an ‘information society’, and to influencing the debate over its meaning and future." It claims to be the first political organisation devoted to this task, although similarly focused work has been carried out by specific teams at think-tanks such as the Institute for Public Policy Research and The Work Foundation.
Knowledge Politics cites three academic theorists as the inspiration behind its work, all sociologists: Daniel Bell, André Gorz and Manuel Castells. The early work of Bell, in particular his book The Coming of Post-Industrial Society probably looms largest in terms of offering a blueprint for the organisation's ideological standpoint, with Castells being the leading contemporary theorist of the social changes Knowledge Politics seeks to address.
The name of the organisation provides another clue to its political values, and is also derived from Bell: the prominence of the term 'knowledge' reflects the goal of using new information and communication networks not just to generate profit but to enhance the level of learning and education across society. This theme is alluded to in the Knowledge Politics logo (two vertical oval shapes touching), which according to the first posting on the organisation's blog, was inspired by the Kurt Vonnegut novel, Slapstick.
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