Third World Future Perfect
I've been reading Jan Chipchase's Future Perfect blog for some time now, and I'm continuously struck by the pointedness and insight of the questions she asks. For example, today she posted a photo of a cricket bat tucked into some bed-linens on a bed in an Ahmedabad street. It was intended as an example of an "ownership-indication" norm in a foreign context. Then she asked about how these norms might change in a future where items could be tagged with ownership information and tracked electronically.
My initial answer was: "Not much", because street people in Ahmedabad wouldn't have access to that kind of technology. But on further reflection, I'm not so sure that is the case. Consider rural Africa, where telephony technology has leapfrogged beyond land-lines in preference of cellphones. In areas where there are no banks, cellphones have become tools of economic empowerment, where people are able to perform rudimentary banking tasks with cellphone minutes as currency. Who knows what other unforeseen applications may arise out of technological availability, third world necessity and native ingenuity. There is no rule that says that third world development must exactly follow the path taken by the first world.
My initial answer was: "Not much", because street people in Ahmedabad wouldn't have access to that kind of technology. But on further reflection, I'm not so sure that is the case. Consider rural Africa, where telephony technology has leapfrogged beyond land-lines in preference of cellphones. In areas where there are no banks, cellphones have become tools of economic empowerment, where people are able to perform rudimentary banking tasks with cellphone minutes as currency. Who knows what other unforeseen applications may arise out of technological availability, third world necessity and native ingenuity. There is no rule that says that third world development must exactly follow the path taken by the first world.