...in progess…
We can see throughout history new technology becomes used for both the greater good of humanity and for exploitation.
(todo) examples, einstein -> a-bomb, Genetic engineering --> monsanto, …
One of the phenomenas happening now spinning off the information age is consumer power. People are being more and more aware of the current events and problems happening around the globe as they happen. We saw this in the lead up to the Iraq war where hundreds of thousands (millions?) of people protesting around the planet. Compare this to the 60's, where protests to the Vietnam war didn't start until well into the war. But the politions don't seem to be changing. They'll still war pigs manipulating the public opinion. Where does this leave us, the people that care? Well the power in the captialist world lies ultimately in the consumer and there's hope through technology.
People want to support their local ecconomies and their local produce. Beyond this people want to support products that are produce in accordance with their beliefs. If you believe in fair trade then you often will make the point out of buying products supporting fair trade. The same applies for organic produce, non-genetic-engineered, etc. Or the opposite might apply, people might want to avoid buying products from economies they have objections to, for example boycotting the United States or Israel. These things are today as important a role in democracy as the role of voting is.
Industries can also be supportive of such consumer power, see
http://www.ausveg.com.au/news.cfm?CID=1741
The growing popularity of microchip IDs replacing barcodes offers consumers the possibility of complete …
http://www.amlabels.co.uk/labels-printers/rfid.htm
