The Autocatalytic Character of theGrowth of Production Knowledge:What Role Does Human Labor Play?

This paper analyzes how the qualitative change in human labor occurs in mutualdependence with the advancement of the epistemic base of technology. Historically, arecurrent pattern can be identified: humans learned to successively transfer laborqualities to machines. The subsequent release of parts of the workforce from performingthis labor enabled them to spend this spare time in the search for further technicalinnovations, i.e., the generation and application of ever-more knowledge. A modelexamines the autocatalytic relationship between the production of commodities andknowledge. The driving forces of these processes and the mechanisms that limit themare analyzed...