Does the Third World Need Computers?

In an attempt to show how technology impacts politics as well as economics, some political implications of ‘appropriate technology’ for developing nations are examined. Contradictions appear in considering issues of dependency and exploitation, because the use of advanced technologies implies one kind of dependency, whereas the absence of these technologies widens the gap between nations and may foster a different dependency. Similarly, the current emphasis on ‘basic needs’ tends to suggest that computers are irrelevant, but managerial and future-oriented prospects may contradict this. Mainframes and microcomputers will both continue to decline in cost and will be more user friendly. Their employment in developing countries will have powerful organisational and cultural impacts, which may help to neutralise threats of starvation, ignorance, and population explosion. There is no self-evident technology by which the Third World can advance as rapidly as is needed without computers. Computer use, as opposed to parts of computer manufacture, will be labor intensive and will thus meet an important investment criterion for development.