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by TheCartographer 4023 days ago
>You might be unsurprised to find out that free speech is not valued on the left or among "SJW" groups. I suggest you research this further, because I can't communicate to you in a single hacker news comment why this is, or what theoretical basis it has.

Who needs theory? Practicality tells all.

Extreme ideologies don't value free speech, because free speech allows the unwashed masses to communicate to each other just how ridiculous they think your ideology is. This is true regardless of where an ideology falls on the oversimplistic "right-left" spectrum: North Korea, Fascist Italy, Communist Russia, Oligarchical-Capitalist Russia, Cambodia, North Vietnam, Burma, Communist China, pretty much the entire Middle East, etc. The list goes on and on and on.

Suppress free speech and criminalize dissident thoughts, and you establish a social basis for staying in power - for the good of the people, of course.

It's unsurprising that extreme ideological adherents are always united in at least one common idea, regardless of the actual content of the ideology they are espousing: the belief that people themselves don't know what is best for their own interests and must be closely watched and shepherded (and culled) if they fall into an annoying habit of thinking on their own.

1 comments

I'm sure you've studied these political ideologies extensively (though my political ideology is pretty obviously very far from the ones you've listed). But it doesn't seem like you've ever questioned the sacred cow that is free speech to you.

I would give you some discussion questions, but I'm sure you'll never, ever move past this roadblock, so I won't feed the trolls.

No trolling here. I'm a staunch believer in free speech, no matter how distasteful.

Not because it is a sacred cow, but because I believe the benefits to free speech far outweigh any drawbacks. (For largely the same reasons, I support open data in government to an much further extent than I think most people would.)

Out of curiostity, Mr Throwaway, what -ism do you use to identity your personal ideology?

>North Korea, Fascist Italy, Communist Russia, Oligarchical-Capitalist Russia, Cambodia, North Vietnam, Burma, Communist China, pretty much the entire Middle East, etc.

>though my political ideology is pretty obviously very far from the ones you've listed

That is very arguable and not obvious at all.