There is an air of anticipation that a wired world has potentialities so great, we have not yet figured out what they are. At the same time, the tired old arguments by those who try to justify growing inequality by harping about education and skill shortages are becoming transparent. The dawn of a new century is an appropriate time to still the infantile argument about meeting basic human needs without obsessing over whether the recipients deserve it. There will always be people who take unfair advantage of any attempt to help people help themselves, just as there will always be people whose sacrifice for this country is all out of proportion with what they've taken from it. If you have doubts about this, take a walk through Arlington Cemetery.
Economic equity is the path to economic justice.
And economic justice is not just a remanufactured notion of New Deal liberalism, but is instead a cold, calculated, mature declaration that keeping planet earth a sustainable, healthy place for human habitation requires the same kind of inclusion that gives rise to great expectations about the Internet. In a world where human beings are really important, nothing less than inclusion is acceptable. In a communication-driven world, feedback is critical. Exclusion creates a false reality. Genuine democracy cannot and will not exist in America until such a time that all voices are heard.