TEXT E Cyberspace, data
superhighways, multi-media--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 transitional 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 U. S. , 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— 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 transitional corporations may benefit, those whose lives depend
on access to the information are denied it. From the passage we know that the development of high technology is in the interests of______.
A.the rich countries B.scientific development C.the elite D.the world economy