| Cyberspace, data superhighway,
multimedia — for those who have seen the future, the linking of computers,
television and telephones will change our lives for ever. Yet for all the talk
of a forthcoming technological utopia, little attention has been given to the
implications of these developments for the poor. As with all new high
technology, while the West concerns itself with the "how", the question of "for
whom" is put aside once again. Economists are only now realizing the full extent to which the communications revolution has affected the world economy. Information technology allows the extension of trade across geographical and industrial boundaries, and transnational corporations take full advantage of it. Terms of trade, exchange and interest rates and money movements are more important than the production of goods. The electronic economy made possible by information technology allows the haves to increase their control on global markets — with destructive impact on the have-nots. For them the result is instability. Developing countries which rely on the production of a small range of goods for export are made to feel like small parts in the international economic machine. As "futures" are traded on computer screens, developing countries simply have less and less control of their destinies. So what are the options for regaining control? One alternative is for developing countries to buy in the latest computers and telecommunications themselves — so-called "development communications" modernization. Yet this leads to long-term dependency and perhaps permanent constraints on developing countries' economies. Communications technology is generally exported from the US, Europe or Japan; the patents, skills and ability to manufacture remain in the hands of a few industrialized countries. It is also expensive, and imported products and services must therefore be bought on credit — usually provided by the very countries whose companies stand to gain. Furthermore, when new technology is introduced there is often too low a level of expertise to exploit it for native development. This means that while local elites, foreign communities and subsidiaries of transnational corporations may benefit, those whose lives depend on access to the information are denied it. |