***  Haus der Kulturen der Welt: Forum1 Archive  ***
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   [Date]: Fri, 10 Dec 1999 18:06:45 +0200
   [From]: "Ami Isseroff" <ami_iss@netvision.net.il>
     [To]: "Cultural Exchange via Internet" <forum1@hkw.kbx.de>
[Subject]: Re: [forum1] Re: structure in discussion


Juan

You have covered a great deal of ground below it seems to me.
I did not intend the executive who does not use a word processor as the
proper parallel of illiterates - but rather as an illustration of a different
problem - sociology of the workplace that prevents the spread and application of
technology.

A different question entirely - who will get to use the Web:
If illiterates have money, and the web can be sold to them, (or things
can be sold to them through the web)  then people will devise a way to do it. Whether or not they will be culturally enriched by it is another matter.
Yet another question - deep social divisions:
IMHO the Web can give a voice to those with relatively little means (or, as Olu pointed out, those who claim to represent the downtrodden). It is unlikely that that voice alone will be enough to change society.
Yet another (related question) you touched on -
I do not know if it is possible to foretell what will happen - most peopl=
e have not had much luck at it. Marxist prediction and various futurists have usually been wide of the mark. Except for a few brilliant and isolated strokes -
predictions have not stood the test of time, and most fundamental changes have not been foreseen. In the 50s, nobody predicted the information driven economy for example. The collapse of the U.S.S.R. was also predicted by nobody.

Best Regards,
A-



----- Original Message -----
From: Juan JosŽ D’az Infante <jdiazinfante@altamiracave.com>
Date: Thu, 09 Dec 1999 19:21
Subject: [forum1] Re: structure in discussion