Digital Formations

New Horizons and Contested Futures

By: Erika Cudworth (Editor), Peter Senker (Editor), Kathy Walker (Editor)

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Paperback | 6 June 2013

At a Glance

Paperback
230 Pages

Edition Type
New edition

Dimensions(cm)
22.23 x 15.24 x 1.27

Paperback

$47.30

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Over the last 250 years, the global capitalist system has been responsible for rapid economic growth and technological change. The consequent increase in production of an ever-changing and expanding range of products and services has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and deprivation.
This book suggests, however, that the primary purpose of current production and distribution is not to satisfy human needs but to create profit for the owners of capital that in turn has devastating consequences for the environment and for vulnerable people.
Multidisciplinary in perspective, contributors to this volume addresses issues of inequality which affect both developed and developing countries. While they are concerned with the framework of income distribution they also explore the wider dynamics of capitalist systems of production and consumption and examine the dimensions of inequality from both an economic and socio/cultural perspective.
The book has three key themes: relations between technologies, inequalities and exploitation; issues surrounding technologies and development; and the nature of technologies and their associated opportunities in the face of the future. That future is contested, and in the present context of persistent inequalities, a debate about where we might be going and how we might get there is crucial. This book makes a trenchant and challenging contribution to this debate.

Industry Reviews

The Great Recession, a world-wide economic downturn without equal since the 1930s, laid bare the reality of inequality, not just between rich and poor countries but also within rich countries as well. From this gaping chasm escape still, small voices speaking about the problematic nature of progress and role of new technologies in fostering that inequality. Erika Cudworth, Peter Senker and Kathy Walker have orchestrated some of those voices here in this provocative volume. Through rich case studies and analysis that is both sophisticated and sensitive, they rouse us not just from our technological somnambulism but from our moral indifference and put inequality squarely back onto the innovation policy agenda. (Professor David H. Guston, Arizona State University)
I welcome this book's focus on exploring the inequalities and social implications of technical change. It contributes to a much-needed debate on how to engender inclusive innovation, enabling participation of those not usually involved in innovation processes. It also reminds us of the ways in which our lifestyles shape technical choices and why we need to think more carefully about our impact on the natural environment. (Professor David Gann, CBE, Imperial College, London)

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