Force will not help, information will.

One, Manu Joseph writes a passionate plea for Facebook to be allowed to offer internet.org into India. " Facebook has created a platform called Free Basics that can give free access to a fraction of the Internet to anyone who has even a cheap feature phone," he writes. He is incensed by activists who are campaigning against this service, because it violates the principle of net neutrality. It would be a great service for the poor because they will get it free and " Facebook does not charge any application to be on Free Basics, nor does it pay the service provider for providing the free service ". Quite. But Facebook has no control of over service providers and we know that business fellows in India will do anything for short term profits. " If India's poor were denied their kerosene and food subsidies, and cheap railway tickets and electricity, they would hit the streets and bring the nation to a halt," he fumes. Yes, they would. Because decades of socialism has bred a culture of beggary and entitlement, in which people think they have a right on the state, but without any obligation to serve the nation in any way. Because it is free there are still 20 million without any electricity, because the boards are bankrupt. The electricity discoms have accumulated losses of over Rs 3.5 trillion and owe Rs 5.5 trillion to the banks. There are over 1 billion mobile phone connections with zero unpaid bills. Even the poorest people are buying smart phones and pay their phone bills on time because they enjoy staying connected. Till 1990 we had only the state owned Doordarshan, broadcasting extremely boring programs but once it was deregulated we have an explosion of private Indian and foreign channels. Poor people will live without a refrigerator but not one will dream of living without a color television and a cable connection. If net neutrality is so bad why is it enforced in the US, Mr Zuckerberg's home country? Mr Joseph is a good chap but the problem is that poor people are not content with bread alone, they want meat and fish as well. Those who speak on behalf of the poor believe that they know what is good for them, which is treating the poor as imbeciles, and want the rich to be made poor, through higher taxes and poor services. So, road rationing in Delhi is good because even a little bit helps, even though cars cause a fraction of the pollution, and some other countries have tried it, never mind that it has failed everywhere. Any kind of oppressive diktats imposed by tyrannical politicians is bad, whether in banning beef or dance bars in Mumbai. Rich people will always find ways to help their children stay ahead. Because they have access to greater information. If the poor are to catch up they need a uncontrolled internet.