Commercialization of knowledge

The development and implementation of a primarily Western concept of intellectual property has had a major impact on the way in which information is being distributed, not only within nation states, but globally as well. This economic perspective on information has created artificial conditions of scarcity for information that was by its nature not seen as scarce. It also leads to a paradox between the reality of the commodification processes and the goal of information and knowledge dissemination in society.