Earlier quoted context omitted.
> It enables business of all kind of sorts to grow It also just enables people to communicate and access information. Kinda weird that we need to make a business pitch to show that something is essential. Then again, we're living under capitalism.
How is capitalism part of this conversation? Socialism also has to debate the merits of making something essential. It’s not like the USSR had sparkling water running to every home. As much as some people would have liked it.
> > It also just enables people to communicate and access information. Kinda weird that we need to make a business pitch to show that something is essential.
> How is capitalism part of this conversation? Socialism also has to debate the merits of making something essential
Indeed, and the social and societal merits are that it enables equal access to education (per the letter in the article) for all, especially in times of a pandemic.
Meanwhile the capitalist merits are that it also enables greater amounts of commerce to occur.
The parent commenter is lamenting that the gains to society outside that exclude increase in capital flows aren’t sufficient to justify something, and that a capitalist gain needs to also be present to provide that justification. While also noting that we do live in a capitalist society.
> It’s not like the USSR had sparkling water running to every home. As much as some people would have liked it.
I’m not sure that the USSR is relevant here. I’m not sure sparkling water adds value to society in the same way as access to electricity, clean running potable water, or the Internet does. One is is a non-essential luxury item. It’s increasingly difficult to argue with a straight face that Internet access is a non-essential luxury.
EDIT: that’s not to say there isn’t an argument to be made that access to the Internet today is a non-essential luxury, and if someone actually has a good faith case to make, by all means please do!