3.
Clegg's reticence is more than merely an issue of time. True
to his deeply introspective nature, he also faces a philiosophical
dilemma in dealing with the Internet.
"There are moments where I feel that there is a loss of
the sensual at the keyboard and that what takes over are very
powerful imaginative forces and very powerful uses of metaphor
which enable the person to engage and to construct an ongoing
dialogue with an imaginary situation, an imaginary person. There
are so many philosophical questions because you are sitting in
front of this board and you have to actually believe that there
is a person out there and that person is what they actually say
they are."
Despite his reluctance to don the robe of Net hero, however,
Clegg still believes that the information highway is crucial
to the future of Africa.
"The 21st century is going to be a century in which one
of the major commodities will be information and the way information
is controlled, distributed, packaged, consumed. I mean it in
the very broad sense of the word where entertainment is a kind
of information. Clearly those societies who have control over
those technologies and have control over the means of distribution
and production will dominate.
"Africa has basically got to be able to at least articulate
itself at that level. I think that the movement inside South
Africa has been very positive. Per capita we are great consumers
of technology, we are not technophobes. I think that's a very
positive aspect of South African culture. I think that the Minister
of Post and Telegraph's position that South Africans be fully
wired in the next five years is a very smart move."
Will Johnny Clegg himself go fully wired by then?
"I may leave it to the next generation. My son is a madman
on the computer, you know, he's a total computerphile. Personally,
I would rather take him up to the mountain, or barbecue with
him, or go for a walk, or riding on bicycles. There's got to
be a balance."
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Mrozinski 04.00