Knowledge in Global Economy

Which philosopher or epistemological position from Weeks One through Four do you consider most relevant to the applied epistemological issues discussed this week in relation to knowledge in the global economy? Why?

I believe that Locke’s position on the origin of ideas was most relevant to the topic of knowledge in the global economy. In Book 2, Ch. XXXIII, 5–6, of “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding” (Moser & Vander Nat, p. 137–38), Locke discussed how ideas come about from different origins. His idea is that some ideas are natural in occurrence, (meaning that you can trace the origin of how the idea came to be), while others come to be through foundations of chance or custom.
Locke’s position of ideas formed from chance and custom relates to knowledge in the global economy due to the variance of customs abroad. Each custom is different than the next one, which means that the ever-changing source of knowledge from different chances/customs varies widely in global economic contexts. Locke implied that combinations of ideas that are not natural are strong with regards to the ties that they have with one another. He also discussed how custom influences habits of thinking and understanding, and how this affects the determination of individual moral will, ultimately influencing what people do and how they do it. Put simply, the influence of what people do in part, influences the global economy in whole.

References:

Cooper, D. E. (Ed.). (1999). Epistemology: The classic readings. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Kahn, C. H. (1998). Plato and the Socratic dialogue: the philosophical use of a literary form. Cambridge University Press.
Moser, P. K., & Vander Nat, A. (Eds.). (2003). Human knowledge: Classical and contemporary approaches (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University