About This Issue

Like it or not, the high technology age is upon us. Computers, microelectronics, and other developments are affecting nearly every aspect of our lives, from the workplace to the bank, from the composition of our cars to the food we eat.

In many ways, the changes are for the better: new developments in electronics, biotechnology, and automation have tremendous potential to upgrade the quality of life, eliminate repetitive and dangerous work, and ease the burden of paperwork.

We at the Monitor can vouch for the attractions of the last point. As we were working on this issue, we were exploring the purchase of a computer system to save time and money and help organize what has become a ceaseless and often overwhelming flood of information.

But there is another side to high tech. Under the current economic system, the changes are leading to more unemployment, helping the multinational corporations extend their control and influence economically and culturally, and accelerating the divisions between the industrialized and developing nations.

This issue of Multinational Monitor focuses on this dual character of the high tech revolution, analyses the changes it is bringing to the world economy, and explores the relationship between recent technological developments and the global strategies of the multinationals. The issue was produced jointly with two research projects of the Institute for Policy Studies: the Technology and Democracy Project, and the Project on Transnational Corporations. Working closely with the Monitor on this issue were IPS staffpersons John Cavanagh, Michael Goldhaber, and Deborah Smith.