In this broad-ranging analysis of the central role that knowledge plays in our life, Nico Stehr critically examines the premises of existing social theory and explores the knowledge relations in advanced societies. The result is a significant new synthesis of social theory.

The issues addressed in Knowledge Societies include: the process of scientization; the transformation of the political system by increasingly knowledgeable citizens; the rise of specific areas of expertise and changes in corresponding institutions based on the deployment of specialized knowledge; a shift in the nature of societal conflict from struggles about the allocation of income and property to claims and conflict about generalized human need