Chapter 8: Information and Communication Technologies

Title: The continuing relevance of structuralism in assessing prospects for Caribbean development in the new techno-economic paradigm

Reference: WORLD SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OUTLOOK 2006 pp. 254 - 264

Abstract/Summary: This paper addresses the problem of uneven development in the current techno-economic paradigm. The use of World-Systems methodology underscores the need to adopt a global perspective in understanding contemporary political and social change. Developing countries striving to enhance their competitiveness in the global economy are faced with fundamental dilemmas. They must participate fully in the global economy, though not as equal partners. The theoretical perceptions outlined in this paper, provide fertile ground to engage in what is inherently a multi dimensional study of the new techno-economic paradigm, with Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) at its centre. Hence this paper argues that the current dogmatic postulations about the potentialities of ICTs are ill-founded and are but echoes of a groundless optimism tainted with universalistic neo-liberal notions of technological change and development. This paper, therefore, examines how the structure of the capitalist world-system affects the developmental choices of peripheral regions, such as the Caribbean.

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