| OK, I wasted some time reading that. Let me dissect a few points he makes. > 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. |
> 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.
Zuckerberg is referring to public libraries, not paid ones. The public library offers a set of books that, while not comprehensive, provide at least some free knowledge. Free Basics is analogous in that it offers some free services. Could Zuckerberg do more? Yes. Could public libraries have more books? Yes.
> In America?!? Hell no. You have emergency room care, and it is NOT free. Medical bills are the #1 cause of bankruptcies in America.
This isn't what he's saying. Some places around the world do offer free basic healthcare. And he's talking conceptually, not concretely. If Zuckerberg ran a healthcare startup and offered free basic healthcare to a region, would they complain that it doesn't offer all possible services? Would they rather have no healthcare than some?