Knowledge-the major new factor of production

Knowledge is power-but only when applied and commercialized. In the minds of some, knowledge is something which is taught, discussed, published and understood-with the burden of its application passed on to those in the sordid 'industry'. But they forget that one cannot separate knowledge and its application, because what use is knowledge which cannot be applied?

History is replete with examples of wars won by superb battle strategy/tactics(Genghis Khan, Alexander's win, USA civil wars, British East India conquest etc) where smart warriors used their minds to win battles over much larger foes). In the retail industry, WalMart used its information centres and data analytics to introduce JIT/improve supplier coordination etc to improve sales and profits, while actually shrinking the need for inventory. That is a great example of replacing physical assets('inventory') with information(via RFID/barcoded inventory). An interesting example is the online retail of goods, music, books, insurance search, banking etc which have replaced the need for brick and mortar store. Yes, they do depend on a physical logistics backbone for execution, but that is much smaller than the cumulative assets they replaced.  The low carbon movement has led to a spurt in energy efficiency, green supply chain planning etc which drastically lowers the resource requirement. Even in the military era, the use of nukes as a deterrent may reduce the need/size of standing armies in future. This is true also given the new dangers of cyberwar, where a handful of hackers can bring down entire countries on their knees.

Of course, the limit to this is that knowledge is always a complementary factor of production, which would always need some other factor. That said, applied knowledge can cut resource use substantially. And that is why it is necessary to increase interest, improve curriculum quality etc of the STEM subjects(Science Technology Engineering Medicine)-since the fruits of these can really help the economy in future. But non STEM graduates also should not shirk their responsibility to think innovatively on how to replace assets with knowledge. If that leads to more virtualization, so be it.