Abstract

 Knowledge is the cornerstone of development according to the modern perspective, and no real development can be achieved at the level of successive human civilizations without significant progress on the level of human knowledge. Human history evolution indicates that the greater the human knowledge, the higher the levels of human civilization.

The knowledge society in the Arab world faces major challenges such as the spread of illiteracy, lack of conviction among officials about the importance of the knowledge society, the spread of low-quality education, weak media and modern communication, and lack of strategic planning for technology localization in the Arab States.

However, despite the gloomy picture drawn by Arab knowledge reports on the reality of knowledge in the Arab world, all these reports emphasized that the Arab historical backwardness in the field of knowledge is reversible if there is ambition, political will, and resources to build enabling environments, and capable institutions for the Sponsorship of cognitive development.

The study recommends eradicating illiteracy and reducing technological illiteracy as strategic objectives, restructuring the economy to rely on knowledge instead of labor and capital, allocating a greater proportion of the national income of Arab countries to education and advanced scientific research, activating the joint work of institutions working in knowledge and innovation fields, promote Scientific research, and promote the concept of lifelong education.

Keywords: Knowledge society, Political systems, the Arab world.

 Introduction

Over the past two decades, the term “knowledge society” has spread in academic and media circles, and even among ordinary people. Hundreds of conferences and seminars have been held to discuss the concept of the knowledge society, how it can be accessed, and its role in economic, social, and political development. The pivotal and decisive role of knowledge in shaping the present and future of mankind has grown in recent times, and the belief in the importance of material assets: labor, and capital have largely disappeared as a basis for future development and progress.

In 2002 European Union, for example, declared that the union seeks “to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion’ (Barry Nyan( 2002) p. 6.).

In fact, since the early 1990s, and especially after the emergence of the Internet, it has become clear that there is a trend of a digital revolution, so scientists began to talk about the impact of this digital revolution on the future of humanity. Scientists such as Christopher Friedman, Giovanni Rossi, and others have suggested that the digital revolution will be the driving force of a new wave of economic prosperity and growth, which they considered a new technological trap (Sadiq Rabeh( 2007) p.12).

The prediction of the emergence of the knowledge society dates back to the 1940s and 1950s: Colin Clarke wrote in the 1940s on the (industrial structure of contemporary societies) and concluded that economic activities in these societies would gradually move towards services, Alan Turin (1969), Daniel Pal (1973), and Mark Bore (1977), referred to the role of knowledge and information in the future of humanity (Sadiq Rabeh, 2007, p. 9-10). But the use of this term in social studies and the media, and its prevalence in the public language began to impose itself in the mid-nineties.

2. Research Objectives

This paper aims to clarify the concept of a knowledge society and its role in economic, social, and political development, and to discuss the reality of knowledge society in the Arab world, and finally, to discuss the future of the knowledge society in the Arab world and give some proposals that contribute to the advancement of a knowledge society in the Arab world.

3. Research Hypotheses

The research is based on several hypotheses as follows:

Firstly, despite the financial resources enjoyed by some Arab states, especially in the Gulf region, the Arab world is still making its first steps towards a knowledge society.

Secondly, the knowledge gap between the Arabs and the developed countries is increasing continuously due to the absence of rational Arab policies to support the knowledge society.

Thirdly, building a knowledge society in the Arab world is the most important condition for its development and progress.

4. Research Questions

The paper seeks to answer several questions such as: What is the knowledge society? What are the technological and social developments that led to its emergence? What are its characteristics and measurement indicators? Where is the Arab world from this development? What are the obstacles that face the knowledge society in the Arab World? And how can they be overcome? What is the future of the knowledge society in the Arab world?

The paper is divided into three main sections, as follows:

The first section: Definition of the Knowledge Society and its role in the development.

The second section: The reality of the knowledge society in the Arab world.

The third section: the future of the knowledge society in the Arab world.

 Literature Review

 5.1 Definition of the Knowledge Society and its role in the development

Despite the wide spread of the term “knowledge society”, it is one of the most obscure and confusing terms.  There are great differences between scientists and researchers about its meaning because this term refers to almost the same meaning as the information society, the network society, etc., which increases the term ambiguity.UNESCO has defined the knowledge society as “the society in which growth, development, and innovation are based on the optimal use of information and communication technologies”(Awad Haj Ali, 2005, p 64).

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has defined it as “a society based primarily on the dissemination, production, and efficient use of knowledge in all areas of community activity: the economy, civil society, politics, and private life”. It is “the adoption of knowledge as a governing principle for the sharing of human life”(UNDP 2003, p. 37).

Although some use the term “information society” as synonymous with the term “knowledge society”, some scholars distinguish between them. According to Abizaid, a knowledge society is different from an information society based on the use of ICT, a society capable of producing software (different forms of knowledge) and not only using or producing solid equipment or devices that are used to obtain knowledge ” Zaid, 2005, p. 101). Other scholars, say that “knowledge is broader and comprehensive than informatics. It is the use of informatics for the benefit, and since the benefit is relative, then each piece of knowledge must have a philosophy that sets out the determinants of utility and interest” (Awad Haj Ali, 2005, P. 63-64).

The two previous definitions (UNESCO definition and UNDP definition) point to the great overlap between the knowledge society and the information society, because both definitions focus on the efficient use of information technology and marketing of knowledge for the advancement of society, and although the definition of UNESCO did not refer to the importance of (production and marketing of knowledge), its statement on “optimal use of information and information technology” includes its production and marketing, which is reflected in the economic conditions of the State and constitutes an appreciable part of gross national product (GNP). The debate continues on this issue, the researcher will use the two terms, in this paper, as synonyms, because he believes that elaborating on this subject will take the paper away from its main objectives.

We notice that, while scientists and researchers differed on a common definition of the knowledge society, they agreed on its general characteristics. There is a consensus that the knowledge society refers to higher levels of education, research, development, and information and communication technologies. Knowledge such as the extent of interest in scientific research, development, and dependence on computers and the Internet and competitiveness in the field of production and dissemination of knowledge (Abu Zaid, A. (2005) P 102).

It is not enough for a society to obtain information, and to use it effectively to describe this society as a knowledge society, but it must be a producer and marketer of knowledge, and income from knowledge and information should contribute a reasonable share of the GNI (Gross National Income) of the country.

In general, the most prominent characteristics of the knowledge society is the following (Abu Zaid, A.,( 2005), P. 102):

1. High levels of good learning.
2. Growing growth in the workforce that has the knowledge and can handle it.
3. Opening up the labor market to those who excel in science and technology.
4. Production capacity using artificial intelligence.
5. The existence of research centers capable of producing knowledge and benefit from the accumulated experience.
6. Great openness in the information and communication systems, and a great speed in accessing the required information.
7. Industries with high scientific intensity instead of labor intensity.

 5.2 The Role of the Knowledge Society in Economic and Social Development

Humanity has gone through three major stages:

1. Pre-industrial revolution: This phase focused on limited production for self-consumption, and during this period the focus was often on agricultural and livestock production.
2. The stage of the Industrial Revolution: During this phase, the focus was on the large – scale production, and the production during this phase was characterized by production for commercial purposes and profit. This necessitated the colonization of other countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, to obtain cheap raw materials and labor, and to open markets to manufactured European products.
3. Stage of the revolution of science and technology: which exploded extensively by the end of the twentieth century in many fields: electronic, nuclear, physical, chemical, biological, and space. Technological advances have enabled man to control nature in an unprecedented way. The information revolution began with the computer industry in the middle of the last century, the computer industry represented the third revolution after writing and printing in the field of information, and it became possible through these computers to store a lot of information and classify and benefit from it. Information has become the essential element of economic life, and information technology, not capital or manpower, become the basis for economic growth.

Industrial societies have become societies based on the production and distribution of information. The services sector, and not the industrial sector, is the most important at present. The service sector has attracted 75% of workers, 66% of them in the information sector alone (Hobaish. Ali (2005),P. 43).

The contribution of this sector has become apparent in national income, and its contribution to the national income is steadily increasing at the expense of other sectors. The in-kind economy, which prevailed in the past, has turned into a symbolic economy. The development in the field of communications technology has contributed to jumping over barriers, distances, and borders through satellites, the internet, and mobile phones. The increase in this sector has reflected the overall volume of international trade during the past two decades.

Commodity valuation criteria have changed due to these developments, and the evaluation of the commodity today is not only according to the composition of raw materials, the production of the product, or the capital expenditure, but also the knowledge that led to the creation and production of the commodity, and this became the most important factor in the production, and in this respect, the value of knowledge exceeds the value of capital and the effort spent in the work. “(Abu Zaid, 2005., p. 100).

The economic importance of the knowledge society, as already mentioned, is that knowledge has become a commodity being sold and bought. “The knowledge that is neither sold nor bought is useless,” said one American Thinker. “Consequently, new trends have emerged that speak of “knowledge economies”, “information economies”, etc.

Thus, knowledge must be produced for selling and benefiting from its revenues in increasing national income. Knowledge production (and marketing) is a prerequisite for describing a certain society as a knowledge society.

Information as an economic resource has many advantages: it is usually available more than demand and therefore does not suffer from scarcity. The information is not exhausted when used like other physical resources; on the contrary, consumption increases its value, which is renewed indefinitely and can be used by a large number of people at the same time. They also do not require significant energy and natural resource costs and are therefore low cost.

They are also environmentally friendly products, and they are almost universally popular, despite attempts by countries to control them and subject them to intellectual property laws, they are outside the control of states, governments, and companies, leading to their spread and use at a lower cost.

The information, though numerous and wide, is indivisible, compressible, condensed, and summarized. It is also easy to transfer and store easily in CDs (Sadik Rabeh, 2007, p. 7)

The table below summarizes the differences between the knowledge economy and the traditional economy.

Table 1

Characteristics of the Knowledge Economy in Comparison to the Traditional Economy.

Source: UNDP, Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, Arab Knowledge Index, 2015, p 90. 

 5.3 Knowledge Society in the Arab World:

 There is no dispute about the pivotal role of knowledge in shaping the present and future of human societies. Still, societies differ in their proximity and distance from the required knowledge society. Some countries have advanced in this area, while some societies are still at the beginning of the road towards the knowledge society. The question here is this: Where is the Arab world from this development? This part of the paper will focus on the reality of knowledge in the Arab world.

     The Arab Human Development Report, issued by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in 2003, revealed serious facts concerning the reality of knowledge in the Arab world, including:

1. The Arab world spends not more than 2% of the gross national income on education, and most of these funds paid for salaries and other administrative expenditures, which is a weak percentage (the expenditure of developed countries in this area ranges between 3 and 3.2% of the gross national income of these countries).
2. In the Arab world, there is one scientist per thousand people, while there are four scientists per thousand people in developed countries.
3. The number of newspapers in Arab countries drops to less than 53 per 1,000 people, compared with 285 in the developed countries. The Arab press, according to the report, is “governed by an environment characterized by severe restrictions on freedom of the press and expression of opinion.”
4. The translation movement in the Arab world is stagnant. In the early 1980s, the average number of translated books per million was 4.4, while the number of translated books in Hungary was 519 and 920 in Spain per million. The report pointed out that the number of books translated in the Arab world since the time of the Abbasid caliph al-Mamun (786-833 AD) is 10,000 books, equivalent to what Spain translates in one year.
5. The number of scientists working in research and development(R & D) in the entire Arab world is 371 per million, while the world average is 979 per million
6. The number of books produced in the Arab world did not exceed 1.1% of world production, although Arabs represent 5% of the world’s population.
7. The production of literary books in the Arab world represents only 0.8% of world production, which is less than that produced by countries such as Turkey, which does not exceed one-quarter of the population of the Arab World. (UNDP, 2003,p 43- 100).

       There are fundamental problems and obstacles regarding the knowledge society in the Arab world. The Arab Knowledge Report also revealed the lack of readiness of young people in the Arab world to access the knowledge society, and their inability to transfer, resettlement, and employment of technology in the Arab region, because of the inability of Arab development to provide adequate education for these young people, and its inability to protect them from poverty and unemployment.. (UNDP, The Arab Knowledge Report, 2015).

       In the Global Competitiveness Report 2014, it was found that among the 148 countries included in the Global Competitiveness Report, some of the Gulf countries ranked relatively advanced, as Qatar ranked 13th in the world, followed by the United Arab Emirates, which ranked 19th, Saudi Arabia ranked 20th in the world, While the other Arab countries came in a late ranking, with Mauritania ranked 141th, Yemen ranked 145th and Sudan ranked 146th (UNDP, Competitiveness Report, 2014).

 5.4 Challenges Facing the Arab World

The knowledge society in the Arab world faces major challenges. These challenges can be summarized as follows:

Spread of illiteracy:

The reality of the Arab world indicates a significant increase in the illiteracy rate in the Arab countries. According to scientific studies issued by the Arab Organization for Culture and Science, the number of illiterates in the Arab world reached 70 million in 2005, and half of the Arab population over the age of 15 is illiterate, which is undoubtedly a large percentage; which requires great efforts to eliminate it, On the knowledge society. Illiteracy is the biggest challenge facing the knowledge society in the Arab world because the knowledge society cannot be achieved with the spread of illiteracy.

 Lack of conviction by officials about the importance of the knowledge society:

The conviction of officials and decision-makers about the importance of the knowledge society and the need to achieve it in the Arab world is the first step in creating this society. Access to the knowledge society requires strategic planning to reach it, and unless the political leadership believes in its importance, and plans to reach it within the framework of its national strategy, the Arabs cannot reach the knowledge society.

The low percentage of national income allocated to Arab countries to education (2% paid mostly as salaries) is evidence that Arab leaders lack either conviction about the vital role of the knowledge society or lack awareness of it from the outset.

The biggest challenge here is to convince political leaders of the importance of realizing the knowledge society and to convince them to plan it within the framework of their national plans, paying attention to the quality of education, focusing on technical education, preparing the qualified teacher, and providing a strong infrastructure for education.

 Quality education:

The quantitative increase in the number of students and the number of schools and teachers does not indicate the development of the knowledge society. What refers to this is the quality of education, the abilities of the teacher, the teaching methods, the means of teaching, and the mission of educational institutions.

The problem of education in the Arab world is its lack of quality, its incompatibility with the needs of the labor market, and the lack of freedom to conduct scientific research in many Arab countries.

1. The low percentage paid by Arab countries for education and the low quality of education:

Except for the GCC countries, most Arab countries suffer from a scarcity of resources. The Arab Human Development Report notes that education in the Arab world is a kind of education based on recalling and retrieving scientific material, not on exploration, prediction, and creativity. There is no focus on technical education, and the specialization in the field of social sciences is widespread in the Arab world to a large extent.

The lack of resources in the Arab world in general, and the failure to allocate a reasonable percentage of GNI to education have contributed to the weakening of the infrastructure necessary for the knowledge society. This problem is one of the main challenges facing the knowledge society in the Arab world.

 Weak media and modern communication:

If we exclude some of the few Arab satellite channels and some of the famous Arabic newspapers, most of the Arab media suffer from a clear defect that impedes them from performing their mission in the best way. The media’s weakness – as the most important mechanism for disseminating knowledge – leads to delaying access to the desired knowledge society.

 Failure to transfer technology to the Arab world:

It has already been pointed out that the knowledge society is the society that is capable of (producing and marketing knowledge), and not merely importing and using means of production. However, what happened in the Arab world is the transfer of the means of production, not the technology itself.

According to the Arab Human Development Reports, the reasons for the failure of the Arab world to transfer technology are:

1. The misconception is that a knowledge society can be built by importing the results of science, without investing in the production of knowledge locally.
2. The Arab countries attempt to find scientific cadres through cooperation with universities and research centers in Western developed countries, without the interest of creating scientific traditions that lead to knowledge acquisition in the Arab world.
3. Absence of rational policies that ensure the consolidation of values and institutional frameworks that support the knowledge society.
4. Lack of effective systems for innovation.

Conclusively, investment in the means of production does not mean the transfer of technology, Arab country’s practices can only dispel resources invested in infrastructure and fixed capital. Only the technology transfer, localization of knowledge, and knowledge production can lead to a knowledge society in the Arab world, and this requires a new strategy in dealing with technology and knowledge in a way that ultimately leads to the desired knowledge society in the Arab world.

According to the (Arab Human Development Report 2016), many young people receive an education that does not reflect the needs of the labor market, so many of them are unemployed and excluded from the formal economy (UNDP, 2016).

5.5 The Future of the Knowledge Society in the Arab World

Despite the gloomy picture drawn by Arab knowledge reports on the reality of knowledge in the Arab world, but all these reports emphasized that the Arab historical backwardness in the field of knowledge is reversible if there is ambition, political will, and resources to build enabling environments, and institutions capable of Sponsorship of cognitive development (Nama Center for Research and Studies, 2012).

     According to the Arab Knowledge Economy Report 2015-2016, prepared by Orient Planet Research (In Dubai), the Arab world today witnesses radical changes at all economic and social levels. Several countries in the region continue to adopt qualitative initiatives in their efforts to build an integrated knowledge economy, which has positive and tangible results in terms of improving knowledge society indicators. Indeed, continuous efforts have resulted in notable successes, notably Qatar and the UAE (ranking 14th and 17th respectively, out of 130 countries in total indicators in the Index (UNDP, Global Competitiveness Index 2015-2016).

     The (Global Competitiveness Report 2016), stated that the performance of Arab countries is different in terms of the index of higher education. During the period from 2011 to 2016, there has been progress in the ranking of three Arab countries: Jordan, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.  The ranking of nine Arab countries in terms of the index of higher education declined: Algeria, Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, UAE, and Oman, while three countries came out of the classification: Libya, Syria, and Yemen due to the difficulty of collecting data from These countries, which suffer from severe unrest.

The table below shows the evolution of the assessment of Arab country’s indicators of higher education and training.

Table 2

Assessment of Arab countries in indicators of higher education and training

Source: World Economic Forum: http://erf.org.eg/

  Despite the gloomy picture drawn by Arab knowledge reports on the reality of knowledge in the Arab world, but all these reports emphasized that the Arab historical backwardness in the field of knowledge is reversible if there is ambition, political will, and resources to build enabling environments, and institutions capable of Sponsorship of cognitive development (Nama Center for Research and Studies, 2012).

According to the Arab Knowledge Economy Report 2015-2016, prepared by Orient Planet Research (In Dubai), the Arab world today witnesses radical changes at all economic and social levels. Several countries in the region continue to adopt qualitative initiatives in their efforts to build an integrated knowledge economy, which has positive and tangible results in terms of improving knowledge society indicators. Indeed, continuous efforts have resulted in notable successes, notably Qatar and the UAE (ranking 14th and 17th respectively, out of 130 countries in total indicators in the Index (UNDP, Global Competitiveness Index 2015-2016).

The (Global Competitiveness Report 2016), stated that the performance of Arab countries is different in terms of the index of higher education. During the period from 2011 to 2016, there has been progress in the ranking of three Arab countries: Jordan, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.  The ranking of nine Arab countries in terms of the index of higher education declined: Algeria, Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, UAE, and Oman, while three countries came out of the classification: Libya, Syria, and Yemen due to the difficulty of collecting data from These countries, which suffer from severe unrest.

6. Conclusion

knowledge society is a society based primarily on the production, marketing and effective use of knowledge in all areas of community activity: the economy, civil society, politics and private life.

       The advantage of knowledge is that its value is not exhausted by use; on the contrary, consumption increases its value, can be used by a large number of people at the same time, it is also environmentally friendly.

       The knowledge society in the Arab world faces major challenges such as the spread of illiteracy, lack of conviction among officials about the importance of the knowledge society, low quality of education, weak media and modern communication, lack of strategic planning for technology localization in the Arab States.

Based on the findings of the research, the researcher recommends the following:

1. Arab decision-makers must be fully aware of global developments and the role of knowledge in shaping the present and future of countries.
2. Eliminating illiteracy and reducing technological illiteracy as strategic goals.
3. Restructuring the economy, to depend on knowledge rather than on labor and capital.
4. The allocation of a larger proportion of the national income of Arab countries to education and advanced scientific research.
5. Education Reform: Arab education needs a new vision, improving the quality of the educational product, and developing the talents of creativity and leadership among the youth.
6. Activation of the joint work of the actors in the activities of knowledge and innovation like universities, research centers, technology companies, financing banks, and the media.
7. Developing legal structures that support the knowledge society, and promote scientific freedom and freedom of scientific research.
8. Enhancing the concept of lifelong learning, which is consistent with the Arab social values derived from Islam, which emphasizes the “request of knowledge from cradle to grave”.

 References:

Abu Zaid .A (2005) Knowledge, and the Future Industry, The Arab Book No. 61, Kuwait.

Hobaish. Ali (2005) Third Wave and Survival Issues, Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, Cairo.

Haj Ali. A (2005) “The Knowledge Society and its Role in Supporting National Income and Achieving Comprehensive Security, New Ideas Magazine, No. 13, December.

Orient Planet Research (2016) Arab Knowledge Economy Report (2015-2016)

Rabeh. Sadiq(2007) “The Information Society: In Search of Knowledge Effectiveness of the Concept”, the World of Thought Series, National Council for Culture and Arts, Kuwait, Volume 36, July-September.

UNDP (2015) Competitiveness Report 2014.

UNDP, Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, Arab Knowledge Index, 2015.

United Nations Development Program (2003) The Arab Human Development Report.

Nama Center for Research and Studies (2012) Knowledge Report in the Arab World: Composite Reading. At: http://www.nama-center.com/ActivitieDatials.aspx?Id=94.

United Nations Development Program (2015), Arab Knowledge Index 2015.

Barry Nyhan (ed.)(2002) Taking steps towards the knowledge society reflections on the process of knowledge development, The European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop),

Cathy Garner (2016), The Transformation to a Knowledge Society Social and Economic Improvement through Innovation, A paper for the ASBAR World Forum, Saudi Arabia).

UNDP, 2016, Arab Human Development Report.