From a Knowledge Economy to a “Knowing People” Economy

From a Knowledge Economy to a “Knowing People” Economy

16 October 2025

I said it years ago: we are not a knowledge economy but a knowing-people economy. And yet, things have gotten even worse.

In the past, you at least needed some knowledge and many connections. Today, it seems you need no knowledge at all. This decline is masked by buzzwords like 'talent' and 'skills'. Education and experience have lost much of their value.

Several factors play into this. Our small-scale society, where everyone knows everyone, reinforces a clan mentality — family and friends first. Outside your own circle, you trust no one, not even experts. Add the internet, where everyone has become “Dr. Google.” Add PowerPoint, which lets people mistake slick slides for substance. Then the explosion of MBA programs, producing more managers than thinkers.

According to CBS, only about 7% of the population has a university degree—less than 1% a doctorate. And even among the educated, there’s a loss of respect for knowledge itself. Many take on jobs they don’t understand or dismiss true experts in their own fields.

We’ve had governments full of highly educated people who achieved little for the people. That has sealed the perception that academics can’t be trusted — that they look out for themselves, not society.

AI will only amplify this trend. Many reports, “strategic visions,” and “intellectual outputs” now lack basic research, references, critical thought, or evidence. Yet no one seems to notice — or care. We’ve forgotten what real scholarship looks like.

Anyone can say anything now, and it’s taken seriously simply because it comes from a well-paid “expert.”

Just look at Curaçao’s latest failed “innovation project” — our new national emblem that doesn’t work. It stands as a perfect symbol of our so-called kennissen economy: maximum networking, minimal knowledge.

Miguel Goede