"Six ways the internet will save civilisation" in WIRED magazine (9 November 2010)
Context: Censorship of ideas was a familiar spectre in the last century, with state-approved news outlets ruling the press, airwaves and copying machines in the USSR, Romania, Cuba, China, Iraq and elsewhere. In many cases, such as Lysenko’s agricultural despotism in the USSR, it directly contributed to the collapse of the nation. Historically, a more successful strategy has been to confront free speech with free speech — and the internet allows this in a natural way. It democratises the flow of information by offering access to the newspapers of the world, the photographers of every nation, the bloggers of every political stripe. Some posts are full of doctoring and dishonesty whereas others strive for independence and impartiality — but all are available to us to sift through. Given the attempts by some governments to build firewalls, it’s clear that this benefit of the net requires constant vigilance.
Source: Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope
Source: 1950s, Artists' Session at Studio 35, (1950), p. 217
National Post, January 24, 2001, “Open Letter to Ralph Klein”
2001
And this is the Origin of every Kind of Subjection; which feels itself more or less alleviated, in Proportion to the Situation of the Subjects.And, consequently, as the Law of Nature commands Us to take as much Care, as lies in Our Power, of the Prosperity of all the People; we are obliged to alleviate the Situation of the Subjects, as much as sound Reason will permit. And therefore, to shun all Occasions of reducing People to a State of Slavery, except the utmost Necessity should inevitably oblige us to do it; in that Case, it ought not to be done for our own Benefit; but for the Interest of the State: Yet even that Case is extremely uncommon. Of whatever Kind Subjection may be, the civil Laws ought to guard, on the one Hand, against the Abuse of Slavery, and, on the other, against the Dangers which may arise from it.
Proposals for a New Law Code (1768)
Theresa May: Don't obstruct voters over Brexit https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38879249 BBC News (6 February 2017)
2010s, On Brexit
Tweet Dec 18, 2009, 12:47PM https://twitter.com/basselsafadi/status/6807864152 at Twitter.com
2000s, Youth Q&A on the U.N. High-Level Panel on the Post-2015 Agenda Report (2009)
Source: Presidents of India, 1950-2003, P.83
