Monopoly over knowledge means controlling the paradigm, not just data

Evidence

There is, however, a more stringent sense of the meaning of a monopoly of knowledge. When one speaks, let us say, of the monopoly of religious knowledge, of the institutional church, one is not referring to the control of particles of information. Instead, one is referring to control of the entire system of thought, or paradigm, that determines what it is that can be religiously factual, that determines what the standards are for assessing the truth of any elucidation of these facts, and that defines what it is that can be accounted for as knowledge. Modern computer enthusiasts may be willing to share their data with anybody. What they are not willing to relinquish as readily is the entire technocratic world view that determines what qualifies as an acceptable or valuable fact. — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 743

There is, however, a more stringent sense of the meaning of a monopoly of knowledge. When one speaks, let us say, of the monopoly of religious knowledge, of the institutional church, one is not referring to the control of particles of information. Instead, one is referring to control of the entire system of thought, or paradigm, that determines what it is that can be religiously factual, that determines what the standards are for assessing the truth of any elucidation of these facts, and that defines what it is that can be accounted for as knowledge. Modern computer enthusiasts may be willing to share their data with anybody. What they are not willing to relinquish as readily is the entire technocratic world view that determines what qualifies as an acceptable or valuable fact. What they monopolize is not the body of data itself but the approved, certified, sanctioned, official mode of thought—indeed, the definition of what it means to be reasonable. And this is possible because of a persistent confusion between information and knowledge. — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 743

Categorization

• DEFINE: Distinguishes monopoly of information from monopoly over the paradigm that defines what counts as knowledge.
• XREF: Directly builds on Innis’s monopoly-of-knowledge concept and foreshadows how the technocratic worldview itself becomes monopolized. — connects to: Science escaped time monopolies of knowledge but succumbed to space monopolies — Harold Innis, The Bias of Communication, 804; Communication technology serves group monopolies of knowledge, not community — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 599; Mechanized knowledge creates monopolies that endanger freedom of thought — Harold Innis, The Bias of Communication, 1123 (+10 more)
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 743

Broader Connections

• Mechanized knowledge creates monopolies that endanger freedom of thought #expands (0.80) — Harold Innis, The Bias of Communication, 1123
• Knowledge is paradigmatic and never exists as bare data #corroborates (0.75) — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 744
• Platform data extraction continues historical colonialism’s logic of appropriation #corroborates (0.75) — , The Braided Reading EPUB, 398
• Empire produces and maintains strategic ignorance as a ruling technology #corroborates (0.70)
• Mechanical communication growth did not necessarily expand freedom and knowledge #corroborates (0.60) — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 650