New Theory Explores Knowledge as Capital in Modern Economies

This work proposes a novel economic framework, a "knowledge theory of capital," tailored for contemporary economies. In these systems, productive capacity is increasingly found in non-physical assets such as software, data, AI models, and collective expertise, rather than traditional physical capital. Building upon Adam Smith's foundational theories, the volume investigates how knowledge transforms into a capital-like asset. It explores the processes of its creation, conversion into manageable forms, strategic deployment, continuous improvement through feedback, and how it is either protected or shared. The theory also addresses the challenges of measuring and accounting for this often-invisible "dark capital." The framework differentiates between embodied, disembodied, institutionalized, commons, and public forms of knowledge. It introduces concepts like "first conversion" and "cognitive enclosure" to analyze how productive knowledge is governed, arguing that modern wealth depends critically on this governance, not just on capital accumulation.