Peter Drucker's 1964 Commencement Address: Knowledge as Society's True Capital
By
Bruce Rosenstein
9h ago· 6 min readenInsight
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Summary
This article reflects on Peter Drucker's 1964 commencement address at the University of Scranton, where he argued that knowledge has become the true capital of modern society. Drucker emphasizes that in the post-industrial era, knowledge workers and their expertise are the primary drivers of economic and social progress, surpassing traditional forms of capital like land, labor, and money. The article connects Drucker's insights to the broader context of graduation speeches that have resonated beyond their original audiences.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledKnowledge is the true capital of a modern society.
In the knowledge society, the basic economic resource is no longer capital, natural resources, or labor, but is and will be knowledge.
The most important contribution of management in the 20th century was the fifty-fold increase in the productivity of the manual worker in manufacturing. The most important contribution of management in the 21st century will be the increase in the productivity of the knowledge worker.
Tap into the wisdom Peter Drucker shared at the University of Scranton
