Knowledge workers of the world unite!

On reading Daniel Bell on the coming of post-industrial society, I'm struck by his prediction of the rise of professional groups and the growing importance of accreditation. From my own experience of professional life this rang true. Melin (in The Information Society Reader) expresses it thus; "The coming of Post-Industrialism signals the decline of the proletariat and its replacement as a key agent of politics by professional groups." (p83)

Bell himself predicts (p88), "the clash between the professional and the populace, in the organisation and in the community, is the hallmark of conflict in the post-industrial society". This clash is mediated by the market, by an ideology of consumerism, by access to globally networked information and by an emphasis on communication between service providers (individuals and organisations) and customers/clients.

Eduction itself is having to adapt to the demand for vocational accreditation predicted by Bell, whilst adapting to this environment of access, accountability and customer satisfaction.

I'm struck by the extent to which Bell's ideas have pre-empted the clash that I see today between collective and authoritative knowledge (in Bell's terms between the populace and the professional) - Wikepedia vs peer-reviewed journal article, health web site vs doctor's advice, Amazon's reader reviews and personal recommendations. In relation to information, Bell's ideas intersect with the analysis, on which I've posted before, by Philip Morville on Authority.