The development in the last 25 years in information and telecommunications technology. It has made possible the worldwide integration of economic processes while allowing organizational structures to respond rapidly to changes in markets and technology. Information technology has pushed forward globalization and its overall effects (anon. (2006) Pop. & Dev. Rev. 32, 4). Unilateral advantages do not last long; backwardness can sometimes be advantageous if it creates opportunities for technological ‘leapfrogging’, as ‘late-comer’ institutions and capital are not locked into older technologies, enabling quicker uptake and diffusion of new ones (Carmody (2008) Geog. Compass 2, 1). S. Amin (2003) even refers to the ‘obsolescence of capitalism’ due to the technological revolution, making labour redundant. See Harris in S. Danzigler and R. Haveman (2001) on anti-poverty policy after the technological revolution. Technological determinism ‘simply put, is the idea that technology has important effects on our lives. This idea figures prominently in the popular imagination and political rhetoric, for example in the idea that the Internet is revolutionizing economy and society’ (Adler in S. Clegg and J. R. Bailey, eds 2008).