ABSTRACT
The transformation of the structures of the modern economy by knowledge as a productive force constitutes the 'material' basis and a major justification for designating advanced modern society as a 'knowledge society'. This type of society is characterized by the penetration of ali of its spheres by scientific and technical knowledge. The greatly enhanced social, politicai and economie significance of science and technology calls for an analysis of the increasingly centrai role of knowledge. The chapter explains knowledge as capacity for action. The term 'knowledge' is derived from Francis Bacon's famous observation that knowledge is power. The emergence of knowledge societies signals first and foremost a radicai transformation in the structure of the economy. The nature of knowledge - long before this became a centrai concern in the classical sociology of knowledge that is associated especially with the names of Max Scheler and Karl Mannheim - has been a major preoccupation of philosophy at least since Graeco-Roman times.
