In an essay titled ' Manners Make the Middle Class ' in the Times of India today Mr. Dipankar Gupta, a former professor, says that it was good manners of the middle classes which has led Europe to its affluence today. He cites a book, ' The Essential Handbook of Victorian Etiquette ' written by Prof Thomas E. Hill which advises people not to show off their wealth in front of poor people, not to indulge in name dropping and not to boast about your own country while visiting abroad. Mr. Gupta goes on to say that it was good manners that led to increased social services which helped to lift the poor out of poverty and wants Indians to develop good manners. Mr. Gupta seems to have forgotten that every country in western Europe including tiny Portugal had colonies in Africa, Asia and America. Their manners were restricted to their own citizens while for the rest of the world they were ruthless, blood sucking looters. The ferocity of the two World Wars cannot be matched by any other people. Even their present social support systems were based on looting the third world, especially Africa, where they bought up cheap raw materials and sold back very expensive finished products. They forced the inequitous GATT system on the world and the IMF regularly advised poor countries to open their economies deepening their poverty. Where are the Somalis, the drug gangs or the killers in Congo getting their arms? From the factories of the so called good manners countries. The world has woken up to their games. The IMF is sidelined and the WTO is locked. All European countries are having to reduce social services. Soon they will have to reduce manners too.