500 Million Missing Web Sites: Amartya Sen's Capabilities Approach and Measures of Technological Deprivation in Developing Countries

Abstract

This chapter examines well-known technological shortages in developing countries in the context of Amartya Sen’s capabilities approach. The significant consequences of these shortages include reduced access to necessary professional information, limited production of local cultural information, and the general invisibility of the developing world. The moral situation created by these shortages is reviewed using Sen’s analyses. Three practical responses are also examined. By reviewing one vehicle for information transfer – the web site – the author hopes to highlight the importance of this vehicle and to present reasonably simple responses to current shortcomings.