[governance] Report on WCIT // Suggested Next Steps

[Suresh Ramasubramanian]

On 02-Apr-2013, at 18:57, Norbert Bollow <nb at bollow.ch> wrote:

> Which parts of these observed fears and concerns are real unsolved
> problems, and which parts are just fruits of rhetorical dramatizations
> and fears that would go away if the concerned people would simply
> inform themselves reasonably well?
> 

The additional questions are bound to be - which of these observed fears and concerns actually have other, entirely different, causes including but not limited to -

1. A closed / government monopoly economy, including expensive and controlled internet and telecom access [the control might even exist for political or censorship reasons in a relatively more open economy]

2. A flight of capital, in particular intellectual capital, to other countries, due to the lack of an enabling environment for business in the country itself [such as just how many Indians and Chinese work for Google and Facebook rather than setting up startups in India and China]

3. Other localized micro / macro economic factors, as well as enabling factors including education, electricity, a stable and democratic government ..

4. How much of this "belief" is caused and fuelled by the people believing this opposing "the north" and in particular the USA on ideological or political grounds, to the extent that any news at all in this area is interpreted with an ideological slant and selectively skewed to fit whichever ideology the individual concerned holds to, using the classic tools that a propagandist has at his or her disposal?   

The perpetrators of this last are not by and large not likely to modify their behavior by "informing themselves well", though people who they may influence could certainly benefit from alternate sources of information and discourse.  I am aware that political and personal beliefs will definitely influence thoughts and behavior but this goes rather beyond that.  And an axiom of propaganda is that repeating something patently false often enough, and unopposed, tends to lend even a blatant canard a veneer of truth.  

I welcome the thoughts of this caucus.

--srs
-------------- next part --------------
____________________________________________________________
You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
     governance at lists.igcaucus.org
To be removed from the list, visit:
     http://www.igcaucus.org/unsubscribing

For all other list information and functions, see:
     http://lists.igcaucus.org/info/governance
To edit your profile and to find the IGC's charter, see:
     http://www.igcaucus.org/

Translate this email: http://translate.google.com/translate_t