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WHEN that great chronicler of Victorian life Charles Dickens described 19th-century England it was as a country divided by wealth and status. The free market was king and trade was soaring, thanks to a new communications network: the railway. The few 鈥渉aves鈥� made a fabulous living from the toil of the millions of 鈥渉ave-nots鈥�.

Now fast-forward 150 years and think globally. Today, the free market is king and trade is booming on the back of our new telecommunications networks. The haves live it up, mostly, though not exclusively, in developed countries, while the majority of people in the developing world just scrape out a living. Dickens would be right at home in today鈥檚 world.

While there may be a desire among many rich people to stamp out inequality, there鈥檚 precious little action. By and large it鈥檚 the poor themselves who are finding ways to improve their lot. In this second part of our four-part series on the impact of globalisation we look at some of the ingenious techniques people in developing countries are using to build better lives.

Here, you鈥檒l find people who have invented devices that lighten the loads of millions across rural India. We meet people who are taking technology from the Western world while rejecting its cultural baggage. Instead, they鈥檙e adapting machines to reinforce their own culture.

Western development pundits talk a lot about 鈥渁ppropriate鈥� technology. In this issue you鈥檒l find ideas that challenge the nature of what really is appropriate. Who would have thought that women in the worst Nairobi slums would find a video camera the most effective tool to make life more bearable? And how could a fisherman in the bay of Bengal, whose boat is little more than a bundle of logs, benefit from the Internet?

There is a powerful message in this last story. Many pour scorn on the idea that the Net can open doors for the poor, but that doubt is misplaced. The most unexpected people can benefit: to take advantage of the Net you don鈥檛 even have to be able to read.

A theme running through many of these stories is the desire of shoestring innovators to pass on their ideas, so others can benefit. This may be another function the Net can perform. In this issue you鈥檒l find an economic model that could let even the poorest of people go online. Perhaps one day the engine of globalisation鈥攖he Net鈥攚ill help to even out inequalities around the world.

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