Rubin Patterson and Ernest J. Wilson, III
This article examines whether the new Information and Communication Technologies(ICTs) like the Internet and the world wide web enables the poor countries and poor prople around the globe to 'leapfrog' their underdevelopment and become more equal partners in an emerging global order, or have the new technologies, introduced into an asymmetric global system, already become an engine of greater social inequality. The new ICTs are becoming the engines of inequality, contributing to an ever-widening gap between rich and poor, which has now reached 'grotesque' proportions. Still, some others contend that ICTs have a tremendous equalizing potential. There are dozens of stories showing that telemedicine, distance education and falling ICT costs are having positive and dramatic impacts on the growth prospects of poor prople and poor countries. All these arguments seem to be a classic "the glass is half full", "the glass is half empty" debate. Instead, it is possible to rephrase the debate as "What will it take for countries and international organizations to achieve the positive outcomes and avoid the negative consequences?"; and, "Under what conditions are ICTs progressive and contribute to greater social equality"?