The Case of Global Technology in South Africa

Abstract

Perhaps the greatest challenge 21st century globalization i to overcome the technological divide (this includes the digital and non-digital technologies) that exists between developed and developing nations. The uneven global uptake of technology is one of most important gauges of global inequality in the world today. Despite substantive efforts to level the playing field by bringing new opportunities to developing nations, this challenge continues to plague out modern world. It touches every area of human activity in society that depends on technology and change. It is both important in the current context and in future technology development. This raises the question about how it is that technology diffuses at a global level and how should this diffusion be regulated and controlled. For instance, Jeffrey (2001) examines the economic characteristics of ICT’s to gauge their potential effects on the global economy. Jeffrey (2001) found that ICT’s “are associated with a number of powerful cumulative mechanisms causing some countries to grow rapidly and others to become increasingly marginalized from the global economy (p. 147). According to Jeffrey, South Africa is among the most marginalized of developing nations despite substantive investment in their ICT infrastructure from the international development initiatives. Why is this the case and what can be done to improve the situation?