Cultural Diversity and the Information Society

The forces of globalisation and technology development are paradoxical by nature, offering both threats and opportunities for cultural diversity. Yet the information society is currently perceived only as an economic imperative in a new environment shaped by rapid information technology developments, based on visions shaped primarily by technologist and business concerns and priorities. The prevailing options embedded in these visions, such as globalisa-tion based on cultural homogenisation, are questionable not only from a political and social standpoint, but also in economic terms. In the final analysis, information society develop-ments will hinge on political and social acceptance, for better or worse