Think of all of the points in your day today when information has mattered—from
Think of all of the points in your day today when information has mattered—from the simplest kinds to the most complex. To get to work or school today you had to know what time it was, how to get there by bus or car or foot, what the weather was going to be like, if there was traffic. To register for classes, you needed to know what classes were being offered and at what times, what prerequisites you might need, where and when the classes would be held, and if the professor was any good. Access to accurate, useful information is central to everything we do. Thanks in part to the internet and smartphones, accessing information has become so simple that it is easy to forget its significance.
Information is foundational to all kinds of equity. Information is foundational to all kinds of equity. Take health equity as an example. What information do people need to live a healthy life? To secure health insurance for their family? To help a loved one who is sick? To deal with a chronic illness? How can people know the information is accurate? What if your health insurance company no longer covered an important medication you or someone in your family relied on? Who would you call?
Beyond individual interests, our entire democracy depends on an active and informed public that has the information needed to participate:
Democratic political systems…make claims to legitimacy partly on the basis of their citizens’ ability to seek and obtain reliable, credible information about issues that affect them, information that allows them to interact with other citizens and with their governing institutions….no social arrangements, indeed, no culture or society, can exist without information….a primary requirement for a “good society” is equitable information access and use.” (Lievrouw and Farb, 2003, pp. 504–505)
In other words, if people in a society do not have access to information they need to advocate for their interests, that society is not really a democracy.
Let’s use another health equity example to discuss the relationships between information, democracy, and equity. What if someone in your family developed asthma because of the bugs or old carpeting in your apartment? What is your landlord required to do? Most cities have laws that spell out your rights as a tenant and the responsibilities of your landlord. But as a renter, you need to know these laws exist and know where you can get a copy. You might also need help understanding legal jargon or translating the document into your first language. There are non-profit organizations that may be of help, but again, you would need to find them. There may even be agencies at other levels of government, like a county office of health that might help, but where would you begin your search?
…it’s not just the information about the particular issue that is important. People also need information about how democratic processes work.As Lievrouw and Farb state, it’s not just the information about the particular issue