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Last century we decided that social justice (and the economy!) demanded a literate workforce; because not everyone had access to books we came up with the imaginative solution of the public library. We also passed laws requiring the population to be literate - so that no one was outside the loop. And this was before the introduction of the information society and the beginning of e-business.

What we cannot afford is the absence of national strategy which means that only some people have the opportunity to deliver e-goods, to go to cyberwork, and to engage in online life long learning. Economically we can't afford to create a class of information unemployed, and socially we can't afford to divide the nation into information have and have-nots.

And this is just the starting point.

Just as governments have invested in industrial infrastructure, so too have they given "tax breaks" to those who have discovered and developed the nation's resources. Primary producers, mining companies and steel manufacturers have all had their share of the public purse- in the national interest. And now we have to apply the same principles to the knowledge economy.

The raw material of today's global community is intellectuality and creativity. What developed nations have to sell is ideas - ideas about everything from genes to jams and joysticks, and how they can be better products. Ideas about the way we live, the way we learn, the way we make sense of the world.

And we have to promote creativity - we have to give tax breaks to clever people, to artists who can edutain us (and people in other places). Which is why every one needs a computer, an ISP, a national information infrastructure, and a support system. It will be the making of the community of the 21st century.

And the government who buys every member of society a computer is sure to get a great deal, and an excellent customer service agreement. Not to mention a head start in the global economy.

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