Equality and Inequality of Knowledge

Equality and Inequality of Knowledge

Much of humanity’s inequality in the past was, to a large extent, the result of inequality in knowledge. Only a very small elite had the opportunity to receive an education. On the surface, it may seem as though elites have always tried their utmost to raise the barriers to entry, but in reality, more and more people have continuously gained access to education. At its core, as the saying goes, “Only when the granaries are full do people learn propriety.” Knowledge that does not directly contribute to productivity is, in essence, a form of pure consumption. Therefore, only when productivity is sufficiently developed can society afford to let more people step away from direct production and devote themselves to acquiring knowledge.

Each industrial revolution brought with it a dramatic leap in productivity. For most people, the quality of life became a matter of degree rather than a question of survival. The proportion of people dying from prolonged hunger and malnutrition declined significantly. Most people’s unhappiness was no longer caused by a lack of food or clothing, but by newly manufactured forms of inequality—better food, luxurious clothing. And as the world’s population grew explosively, resources that previously did not signify much suddenly became markers of class—for example, larger living spaces. At the same time, however, the privilege of receiving an education suddenly became a right that almost everyone had the chance to enjoy.

With the advancement of internet technology, the barriers surrounding knowledge have been broken down even further. Courses once available only to a few hundred students at elite universities suddenly became open classes online that millions could freely attend. Speeches that once had only hundreds or thousands of people in the audience could now attract millions of viewers on the other side of the internet. The means by which human beings obtain information and knowledge have become increasingly convenient. But does this mean that, in the face of knowledge, we are becoming truly equal?

Quite possibly the opposite is true. What has become equal is only the opportunity and the possibility, while the end result may well be even greater inequality. When everyone can freely obtain the information they need from the internet (and as machine translation advances, even language may no longer be a barrier), future inequality is more likely to be inequality of knowledge. On the one hand, as the obstacle of information asymmetry gradually disappears, everyone may one day be able to easily grasp the basic information required for a given field. Those who once made a living from information asymmetry will have to move into deeper territory, relying on data mining and analytical ability to create new asymmetries—and that kind of asymmetry is certainly not something one can overcome simply by reading a few books. On the other hand, the equalization of access to knowledge will make the intellectual gap between people even more apparent. Differences in learning ability and capacity for thought will rapidly widen the distance between individuals.

When the explosion of knowledge is finally ignited by the fuse of the internet, everyone on Earth will inevitably have to confront this paradox of equality and inequality in knowledge. The process may be long, but it may also be completed within the next ten or twenty years. If we wait until that moment arrives to think about how to respond, it will obviously already be too late. So what remedies do we have?

I can think of roughly the following points. First, improve your distinctiveness and competitiveness. The spread of knowledge and information will inevitably make true specialization scarce. When the tide rises, only those who occupy higher ground will be the last to be submerged, and the peaks of different specialties are precisely such protruding high ground. Second, refine the system and structure of your knowledge. Any fragmented knowledge will become increasingly fragile in the future. Whatever kind of knowledge you possess, you should work to make your knowledge structure complete and coherent, so that when the explosion comes, a solid and well-built structure will make you more competitive. Third, make proper use of this equal opportunity. The information brought by the internet is endless, and vast amounts of valuable knowledge lie buried beneath piles of useless content. If your so-called “knowledge” in the future consists only of online social news and the flashy “useful tips” shared in your social feed, then compared with those who know how to use internet technology well and actively learn meaningful knowledge, the outcome is easy to imagine.