[PEN-L:2348] free speech

[JDevine@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (James Devine)]

On Sun, 31 Dec 1995, Doug Henwood wrote:> Yes yes yes! Thank you Michael.
 And not only does he keep the list going, he's somehow kept us free of
 infection by libertarians!<


A. S. Fatemi responds >>I DISAGREE WITH DOUG BECAUSE I DON'T BELIEVE IN
CENSORSHIP UNDER ANY GUISE OR EXCUSE.<<

I think of pen-l as being like a group of friends having a
discussion of political economics over lunch or drinks or
whatever. If some drunk comes over and starts yelling
"libertarian" or Rush Limbaughite slogans and we tell him to go
away, it's hardly "censorship." They can go somewhere else to
spew their party line.

How can we have a serious but friendly conversation if Hayekians
and the like keep coming in and trying to impose their vision?

Nonetheless, I don't think pen-l should have Michael Perelman or
anyone else having the job of kicking out interlopers (except the
most obnoxious "spammers" who bombard a list with ideological or
commercial advertising). Instead, the groups should shun these
folks, simply refusing to respond to their comments.  If there's
enough consensus about who the obnoxious folks are, in my
experience, this kind of shunning policy works.

BTW, we should remember that libertarians are in favor of
censorship as long as it's done by private capital, as when a
newspaper decides not to publish "controversial" letters to the
editor, opinion pieces, etc. and to keep left-leaning reporters
from differing from the editorial line.

(I'm breaking with my 12-step program with this message, but I
think this stuff is important.)

in pen-l solidarity,

Jim Devine   jdevine@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Econ. Dept., Loyola Marymount Univ., 7900 Loyola Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90045-8410 USA
310/338-2948 (daytime, during workweek); FAX: 310/338-1950
"Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way
and let people talk.) -- K. Marx, paraphrasing Dante A.