by BrooklynRage on 12/28/15, 3:10 PM with 13 comments
by discardorama on 12/28/15, 4:20 PM
> We have collections of free basic books. They’re called libraries. They don’t contain every book, but they still provide a world of good.
They're called "public" libraries; not every library is free. I remember once trying to enter Stanford's library (Green?), and they refused to let me in without a Stanford ID.
> We have free basic healthcare.
In America?!? Hell no. You have emergency room care, and it is NOT free. Medical bills are the #1 cause of bankruptcies in America.
> And in the 21st century, everyone also deserves access to the tools and information that can help them to achieve all those other public services, and all their fundamental social and economic rights.
I couldn't even parse this sentence. What does "achieve" mean here?
The problem with people like Zuckerberg is that they think the poor would be fine with a walled garden Internet.
Imagine if Coke came along and said: we'll provide all poor people who don't have access to clean water with free Coke. This "free basics" seems the same.
You want to spread Internet to everyone in India? Let the Government install free WiFi spots; maybe in every railway station? Give people access to free WiFi at, say, 256kbps. The Government of India should be stepping in to make the Internet free and accessible, not some billionaire sitting in Palo Alto, sipping his latte.
by apalmer on 12/28/15, 4:14 PM
Their is a reason most super wealthy people who have made a big impact through philanthropy have tended to make it their focus after they have explicitly detached themselves from their money making enterprise, and/or focused on areas that do not overlap with their money making enterprises...
by splintercell on 12/28/15, 4:15 PM
A company should and MUST make huge profits off helping poor, this is the only sustainable way by which people will be able to come out of poverty.