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Samizdata quote of the day – Macron has declared war on free speech Macron insists he’s defending democracy from manipulation and hate. But that’s the excuse. His vision is of a Europe where free speech is tolerated only when it is traceable, and where platforms pre-emptively silence anything that might draw a regulator’s glare. He calls it a ‘resurgence of democracy’. It’s nothing of the kind. It’s the bureaucratisation of thought, and the beginning of a continent where debate survives only on licence. If Macron has his way, Europe’s public square will not just be regulated, it will be licensed.
– James Tidmarsh
Of course UK is no better.
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One of my beefs with the EU is that they follow Roman or Napoleonic Law – you are only allowed to do what is permitted. So ‘free speech’ only exists within what is permitted, and what is permitted is getting more and more restrictive.
After (a fumbled) Brexit we are in a Common Law community where you can do anything that is not forbidden – although there are still plenty of the elite who choose not to get the message. Hankering after the bullshit of Brussels, perhaps.
It is ‘democracy’ (and thus ‘good!’) when the mass of ordinary people agree with the elites and the authorities, and ‘populism’ (and so ‘evil!’) when they disagree.
That makes this grand censorship regime a strategy to suppress ‘evil populism’ by thwarting the masses from disagreeing with the elites and the authorities, and to promote ‘good democracy’ by allowing only agreement with the elites and the authorities from the masses.
And the way that Starmer and others want to water down UK independence from the EU should be also understood in this light. The current U.K. and much of the judicial establishment, and others, are fine with this sort of stance.
Macron is a bargain basement Louis 14, sans the daft whig.
Yes indeed – censorship and persecution of dissent are very much the agenda of the International Community, of which the governments of France and Britain, and many other nations, are part.
The United States should consider very carefully whether powers that have NOW (whatever may have been the case in past) nothing but hatred and contempt for basic American principles, such as the 1st Amendment, really are “allies”. A few countries, such as Taiwan, may reject “Hate Speech” laws – but most have signed up to the International Community agenda of censorship and persecution of dissent.
There may indeed be common interests in opposing Mr Putin and the Chinese Communist Party Dictatorship – but such nations as Britain and France are not really allies in the sense of a deep alliance of basic principles.
Remember if Mr Mandani (a man filled deep hatred for the Western world in general and for the United States in particular – and likely soon to be Mayor New York City where Americans are now a MINORITY – which is also part of the agenda of the International Community, the destruction of historic Western Nations) he would be given a knighthood – as Mayor Khan (a similar figure to Mr Mandani) has been, “you should have been given this years ago” said His Majesty King Charles the Third, smiling warmly at Mayor Khan – who denied there were “Grooming”, Rape, Gangs in London.
As John Cleese (of Monty Python – and life long modern liberal) said years ago – London is no longer an English city.
President Macron of France and Prime Minister Starmer of the United Kingdom are going to do nothing about any of this – and they will put in prison anyone who complains too much.
Again – there may, on some things, be common interests – but a true alliance of principles….. NO.
I liked Nayib Bukele’s tweet that displayed all world governments as authoritarian. It does seem that almost everywhere is a tyranny to some degree or another now, and the western ‘democracies’ are quite conceited about this.
Martin – as you know, democracy depends on people not being punished for peacefully expressing their opinions, because if people are punished for peacefully expressing their opinions – the public can not make a real choice, because they have not been allowed to hear both sides of the argument.
The German establishment is indeed guilty – it sends people to prison for harmless memes (which mock politicians and so on).
But it is not true that everywhere seeks to destroy Freedom of Speech – or freedom in general.
America is a corrupted fortress (there are many traitors within it – seeking to destroy all liberty) – but it is still a fortress of liberty, still at least TRYING to stand for the principle of a free (and, therefore, armed) citizenry.
This is why thinking about America tortures me – for America is in peril, and if America falls, all hope dies.
Whereas I can think about Britain with total calm – for a very bad reason.