Cognitive-cultural economy
Encyclopedia
Cognitive-cultural economy (or cognitive-cultural capitalism
) is represented by sectors such as high-technology industry, business
and financial services
, personal services, the media
, the cultural industries
and so on. It is characterized by digital technologies combined with high levels of cognitive and cultural labor. Alternative designations include "post-Fordism
," "cognitive capitalism," the "knowledge economy
," the "new economy," and so on. The cognitive-cultural economy is concentrated above all in major world cities such as New York
, Los Angeles
, London
, Tokyo
, Shanghai
, Seoul
, etc.
As fordist mass production began to wane after the mid to late 1970s in the advanced capitalist countries, a new more flexible system of productive activity began to take its place. Empirical studies of this new system were published in the 1980s on the basis of case-study materials focused mainly on high-technology industrial districts in the United States (Silicon Valley, Orange County, Boston's Route 128, etc., - see Saxenian) and revivified craft industries in the north-east and center of Italy (the so-called Third Italy - see Bagnasco, Becattini,Garofoli). Over the next two decades, considerable empirical and theoretical advances were made on these issues. An important contribution to the debate involved the publication of "The New Division of Labor" by Levy and Murnane in 2004. Levy and Murnane do not mention the "cognitive-cultural economy" but their work is important because it highlights the replacement of standardized machinery in the American production system by digital technologies that not only substitute for routine labor, but that also complement and enhance the intellectual and affective assets of the labor force. These technologies have underpinned an enormous expansion of the technology-intensive, service, financial, craft, and cultural industries that are at the heart of the cognitive-cultural economy today.
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
) is represented by sectors such as high-technology industry, business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
and financial services
Financial services
Financial services refer to services provided by the finance industry. The finance industry encompasses a broad range of organizations that deal with the management of money. Among these organizations are credit unions, banks, credit card companies, insurance companies, consumer finance companies,...
, personal services, the media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
, the cultural industries
Cultural industry
According to international organizations such as UNESCO and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , cultural industries combine the creation, production, and distribution of goods and services that are cultural in nature and usually protected by intellectual property rights.-The concept:The...
and so on. It is characterized by digital technologies combined with high levels of cognitive and cultural labor. Alternative designations include "post-Fordism
Post-Fordism
Post-Fordism is the name given to the dominant system of economic production, consumption and associated socio-economic phenomena, in most industrialized countries since the late 20th century...
," "cognitive capitalism," the "knowledge economy
Knowledge economy
The knowledge economy is a term that refers either to an economy of knowledge focused on the production and management of knowledge in the frame of economic constraints, or to a knowledge-based economy. In the second meaning, more frequently used, it refers to the use of knowledge technologies to...
," the "new economy," and so on. The cognitive-cultural economy is concentrated above all in major world cities such as New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
, etc.
As fordist mass production began to wane after the mid to late 1970s in the advanced capitalist countries, a new more flexible system of productive activity began to take its place. Empirical studies of this new system were published in the 1980s on the basis of case-study materials focused mainly on high-technology industrial districts in the United States (Silicon Valley, Orange County, Boston's Route 128, etc., - see Saxenian) and revivified craft industries in the north-east and center of Italy (the so-called Third Italy - see Bagnasco, Becattini,Garofoli). Over the next two decades, considerable empirical and theoretical advances were made on these issues. An important contribution to the debate involved the publication of "The New Division of Labor" by Levy and Murnane in 2004. Levy and Murnane do not mention the "cognitive-cultural economy" but their work is important because it highlights the replacement of standardized machinery in the American production system by digital technologies that not only substitute for routine labor, but that also complement and enhance the intellectual and affective assets of the labor force. These technologies have underpinned an enormous expansion of the technology-intensive, service, financial, craft, and cultural industries that are at the heart of the cognitive-cultural economy today.
Links
- Creative economy
- Creative industriesCreative industriesThe creative industries refers to a range of economic activities which are concerned with the generation or exploitation of knowledge and information...
- Postfordism
- Financial servicesFinancial servicesFinancial services refer to services provided by the finance industry. The finance industry encompasses a broad range of organizations that deal with the management of money. Among these organizations are credit unions, banks, credit card companies, insurance companies, consumer finance companies,...
- High-technology industry