A Historical Perspective: Knowledge as Power, Openness, and Sharing in Western and Eastern Thought

Abstract

Western intellectual traditions have long recognized knowledge as a decisive force shaping economic productivity, social organization, and political authority. From the Enlightenment onward, the gradual displacement of theological authority by scientific rationality raised critical questions not only about the value of knowledge, but also about its accessibility, circulation, and social purpose. Although early thinkers did not employ contemporary terms such as Open Science or knowledge commons, many articulated principles emphasizing dissemination, public reasoning, and shared intellectual resources as essential conditions for social progress. This paper offers a bird’s-eye view of the concept of knowledge as power and the ethical imperative of its wide dissemination, as articulated across Eastern and Western intellectual traditions. It traces convergent ideas from Western thinkers such as Rousseau and Marx, to Eastern philosophical lineages represented by Sankara and Chattampi Swamikal, and extends the discussion to modern theorists including Joseph Schumpeter and Alvin Toffler. By situating contemporary debates on open knowledge within these broader philosophical trajectories, the paper highlights a shared civilizational concern with knowledge as a collective resource vital for social transformation and human emancipation.