19.6. The New Economy

Nowadays the knowledge that is produced in the heads of the people who work together in the process of producing goods and services is the critical production factor that is producing economic value in the new economy.

The evidence is clearly visible for anybody who wants to see. Look at the Fortune 500 list: Who is going up and who is coming down? Going up are capital-poor, brain-rich companies: they are communities of people—software firms, IT firms, and auditors. Could anyone have imagined the rise of law firms? Law firms used to live in nice little town houses and have five partners. Or the rise of advertising and media businesses? They are among today's winners.

Again, as in the fifteenth century, the shift in the ...

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