This is the first part of a two-part series in Social Science Computer Review devoted to a topic of cardinal importance to the future of information societies: the changing axes of equality and inequality. The current issue focuses on developments in the United States, whereas the second will have an international focus, especially on less developed countries. This introduction briefly discusses what is meant by "information societies," and then outlines recent attempts to explain the link between information technology diffusion and rising economic inequality in the United States.
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