In his book, 1984, George Orwell quoted the secret police slogan, “Freedom is Slavery.” And there was a song sung by Tennessee Ernie Ford in which part of the lyrics went, “Another Day Older and Deeper in Debt.” In a recent publication, Cambridge economist Amartya Sen asserts that ‘development’ can bring freedom. Wishful thinking, Amartya. Although there may be a few exceptions, it’s new-agey, wishy-washy and Pollyannaish to expect this if big corporations are involved. They may say they will preserve traditions, religions and customs of people in distant developing lands, on the plea that they’ll generate medical facilities, improved education, more varied and convenient shopping, better entertainment and – most important of all – more money. Are the workers in sweat shops around the world, or programmers in India, being offered more freedom or becoming mired deeper in debt?