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The logic of strategic ignorance[Note 1. Many thanks to Eamonn Carrabine, Nicolas Guilhot, Peter Jacobson, ...]
Author(s) -
McGoey Linsey
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
the british journal of sociology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.826
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 1468-4446
pISSN - 0007-1315
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-4446.2012.01424.x
Subject(s) - ignorance , battle , face (sociological concept) , asset (computer security) , liability , value (mathematics) , politics , resource (disambiguation) , law and economics , public relations , power (physics) , political science , business , law , sociology , computer security , social science , computer science , history , computer network , physics , archaeology , quantum mechanics , machine learning
Ignorance and knowledge are often thought of as opposite phenomena. Knowledge is seen as a source of power, and ignorance as a barrier to consolidating authority in political and corporate arenas. This article disputes this, exploring the ways that ignorance serves as a productive asset, helping individuals and institutions to command resources, deny liability in the aftermath of crises, and to assert expertise in the face of unpredictable outcomes. Through a focus on the F ood and D rug A dministration's licensing of K etek, an antibiotic drug manufactured by S anofi‐ A ventis and linked to liver failure, I suggest that in drug regulation, different actors, from physicians to regulators to manufacturers, often battle over who can attest to the least knowledge of the efficacy and safety of different drugs – a finding that raises new insights about the value of ignorance as an organizational resource.