These days, even accounting for customary political hyperbole, the rhetoric about e-government is somewhere between exaggerated and absurd. No matter how much officeholders vow to level the digital playing field, the barriers will loom much higher for some than for others. Ability to take part in government should not be determined by economic resources. The digital divide is far from the only problem with the e-government boom. No matter how dazzling, technology doesn't empower people.
People can empower themselves.
And they remain supplicants to centralized economic and political power if they rely on sitting in front of screens, downloading government documents and filling out forms on official websites. Jordan's rulers, led by King Abdullah, are moving to integrate the trappings of e-government into their authoritarian monarchy. One of the charter members of the American initiative for e-government is Egypt, which continues to commit serious human rights abuses. Or consider Singapore, where the government is so arbitrary and repressive that it has maintained a ban on chewing gum since 1992. Who knows, the program may even help to keep the subway trains running on time.