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To Know or not to Know: A Moral Reflection on Information Poverty

Britz, Johannes J.·2004·Journal of Information Science
DOI 10.1177/0165551504044666
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Abstract

This article reflects, from an ethical perspective, on the problem of information poverty. Information poverty is defined as that situation in which individuals and communities, within a given context, do not have the requisite skills, abilities or material means to obtain efficient access to information, interpret it and apply it appropriately. It is further characterized by a lack of essential information and a poorly developed information infrastructure. It is argued in this article that information poverty is a serious moral concern and a matter of social justice and as such should be on the world’s moral agenda of social responsibility. Based on social justice a set of broad ethical principles are formulated that can be used to guide the social, economic and political initiatives to solve information poverty and to create a fair information society.

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Research works printed but not linked: 50

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Metadata

Authors
Britz, J. J.
Affiliations
University of Pretoria (ZA)
Corresponding author
Britz, Johannes J.
ORCID
Britz, Johannes J.
Venue
Journal of Information Science
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2004-06
Volume
30
Issue
3
Pages
192-204
ISSN
  • 0165-5515 (ISSN-L)
  • 1741-6485
DOI
10.1177/0165551504044666
OpenAlex
W2095817614
Cited by
200
References
2
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 7
FWCI
38.55
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
Journal of Information Science (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › General Social Sciences › Information Society and Technology Trends
  • Social Sciences › Library and Information Sciences › Information Science and Libraries
  • Social Sciences › Library and Information Sciences › Library Science and Administration
Keywords
information poverty, social justice, information ethics, access to information, information infrastructure, ethical principles, social responsibility

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: To Know or not to Know: A Moral Reflection on Information Poverty. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1177/0165551504044666
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Britz, J. J. (2004). To Know or not to Know: A Moral Reflection on Information Poverty. Journal of Information Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165551504044666