# "Knowledge-based" Economy: Someone please explain it to me **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 17, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/knowledge-based-economy-someone-please-explain-it-to-me/557463 "2010-10-17T18:21:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/knowledge-based-economy-someone-please-explain-it-to-me/557463/21 "2010-10-20T17:06:02Z")
> [@falcotron](#): > > Well, it matters for anyone trying to preserve the nation-state. And I think protecting the nation-state is pretty much the foundation of anti-globalism, both right-wing and left-wing,\* even if the people involved don’t always realize that. Whether you want to preserve the 40-hour work week or to keep America safer from attack than the rest of the world, you need America (and taxes on American people and businesses) to do it. (If you’re not American, feel free to substitute your own country.) > > On the other hand, if your argument is that people shouldn’t want that, or that it’s completely impossible (so it doesn’t really matter if they want that), I’ll accept that possibility. If the concept of America is irrelevant, then the issue of America moving toward a knowledge-based economy is no more interesting than, say, the Silicon Valley doing so. I would argue that reversing globalism is both impossible and something that people shouldn’t want. The concept of “America” or the nation state in general is extremely relevant as the world moves towards a more connected knowledge based economy. Especially as more and more business becomes “virtualized” and less tied to a specific geographical region. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/knowledge-based-economy-someone-please-explain-it-to-me/557463.md?page=1)