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What Are We Allowed to Say?
Bromwich, David http:///www.lrb.co.uk/v38/n18/david-bromwich/what-are-we-allowed-to-say
Publisher: London Review of Books
Date Written: 22/09/2016
Year Published: 2016
Resource Type: Article
Free speech is an aberration -- it is best to begin by admitting that. In most societies throughout history and in all societies some of the time, censorship has been the means by which a ruling group or a visible majority cleanses the channels of communication to ensure that certain conventional practices will go on operating undisturbed. It is not only traditional cultures that see the point of taboos on speech and expressive action. Even in societies where faith in progress is part of a common creed, censorship is often taken to be a necessary means to effect improvements that will convey a better life to all. Meanwhile, since the fall of Soviet communism, liberal bureaucrats in the North Atlantic democracies have kept busy constructing speech codes and guidelines on civility to soften the impact of unpleasant ideas.
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