16 The EconomistFebruary 10th 2018
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Economist.com/lettersThe election in HondurasYour article on the contested
inauguration of the president
of Honduras includes some
interpretations that I feel com-
pelled to clarify (“A tarnished
presidency”, January 27th). I
do appreciate your charac-
terisation of the position of the
Organisation of American
States, which clearly explained
the irregularities and deficien-
cies of the electoral process
and therefore the impossibility
of establishing a clear winner.
However, I disagree with
the view that starting a negoti-
ation with the government
and all institutional actors
leaves democracy defenceless.
In fact, I found this to be the
most useful way ahead in
order to keep working on the
strong recommendations of
the three reports of the mission
that observed the election.
Defending democracy and
human rights doesn’t mean
that the most forceful measure
has to be the first one taken.
We all have clear obligations
arising from the Inter-Ameri-
can Democratic Charter.
LUIS ALMAGRO
Secretary-general
Organisation of American States
Washington, DCItaly’s compromising politicsI disagree with your comments
about Matteo Renzi being a
“failed reformer” who “man-
aged only modest labour
reforms before being ejected”
from office as Italian prime
minister (“Battle of the bene-
fits”, January 27th). Mostof Mr
Renzi’s draft reforms reflected
the principles you espouse,
such as more labour-market
flexibility (the Jobs Act), boost-
ing investments in automation
(the Industry 4.0 plan) and
introducing a form of univer-
sal basic income (Reddito di
Inclusione, recently introduced
by the Gentiloni government).
Mr Renzi couldn’t count on
a solid parliamentary majority
and he had to compromise
with other parties. That is a
historical condition which has
doomed the reforming ambi-
tions of many past Italian
governments. When you
factor in Italy’s chronic politi-cal instability and consequent
lack of long-term vision, Mr
Renzi’s reforms are actually
encouraging signs.
ALBERTO BRIGHENTI
LondonTechlash backlash“Taming the titans” (January
20th) suggests that successful
American technology firms
are alien forces that need to be
controlled. However, you
concede that “much of this
techlash is misguided” and
note that Amazon, Apple,
Facebook and Google are
among the companies most
admired by investors. They are
also the companies most loved
by consumers. There is a dis-
cussion to be had about the
power of the tech industry, but
much of the techlash is in fact
fuelled by complaints from
competitors whose business
models have been disrupted.
The tech ecosystem gener-
ates hundreds of billions of
dollars in consumer surplus
value each year. As a champi-
on of strong antitrust laws, I
am well aware of the costs of
misapplied competition law.
Antitrust remedies work for
consumers when they are
used to safeguard competition,
not competitors. They should
be applied to misconduct, not
speculation. Consumers do
not benefit when regulators
pick winners and losers from
among businesses, especially
when goaded by parochial
special interests.
ED BLACK
President and CEO
Computer and Communications
Industry Association
Washington, DCTransferring anonymised
consumer data from estab-
lished companies to their
challengers, which you pro-
pose as one way to weaken the
market dominance of tech
giants, is fiendishly difficult.
Data that are anonymous
today may no longer be when
new data see the light of day.
Sharing such information
could create serious risks.
Youare rightto saythat
giving people ownership of
their data could be the founda-
tion for a more competitiveand humane digital economy.
But your example of data
portability between banks in
Europe illustratesthe problem.
It exists in principle butnot in
practice, in spite of a gargan-
tuan legislative effort. Having
been passive data generators
for so long, it is also not obvi-
ous that consumers have the
appetite to take control.
These challenges are not
insurmountable. They de-
mand a new kind of regulation
and regulator: ambitious,
uncompromising and at home
with technology. Rather like
the tech titans themselves.
CHRIS GORST
Nesta Challenge Prize Centre
LondonAs a consumer, I would pay for
control over my data. But that
is probablythe lastthing these
companies will give up. There
is a saying: if you’re not paying
for a service, you’re not the
customer. You’re the product.
NIKOLAUS VAERST
HamburgGet out of your carAnother way of looking at the
future of urban traffic (Free
exchange, January 20th) is to
consider that the ease of travel
is largely determined by ques-
tions of space. Cars need a lot
of it, underground rail creates
more of it by burrowing tun-
nels, buses use it efficiently
(when full), but pedestrians
even more so. Walking is the
invisible and essential form of
city travel. In central London it
accounts for 78% of all trips,
47% in inner London and 35%
in the outer suburbs of the city.
The logic of this is that in
busy districts walking should
be given pre-eminence, as the
City of London has recently
recognised at Bank station.
This junction, which used to
be a maze of crawling cars, is
now peacefully devoted to
buses, walkers and cyclists.
This is the way ahead for city
and suburb. Private cars do not
work in cities. They take up too
much room, whether on the
move or parked (as they most-
ly are). Driverless vehicles, the
focus of your article, could
play a vital part in getting cities
moving again, provided theyoperate as taxis. But the
emphasis should be on
walkers, cyclists and buses.
TERENCE BENDIXSON
President
Living Streets
LondonSurely the vehicles of the
future will be able to extract
real-time data from a transpor-
tation database and send it
ahead to traffic lights. The data
could direct the timing of
traffic lights, helping the flow
of traffic. How many times
have we sat at a red light when
no cars crossed our horizon?
How many times have we
slowed and stopped ata four-
way stop sign when no other
vehicles have been around?
DERRICK VANKAMPEN
TampaSouthern manHaving listened to The Dark-
ness, I wasn’t surprised to read
about the despondency of
commuters on Southern Rail
(“Off the rails”, January 6th).
Last year the band released
“Southern Trains”, a song that
captures the misery endured
by the train company’s pas-
sengers. Among the more
explicit lyrics, Justin Hawkins
sings about the
Heaving carriages of
indignation
Grown men weeping in pure
frustration.ALEX DEW
Salt Lake City 7Letters