Challenge censorship at every turn

As George Bernard Shaw put it, “All censorship exists to prevent anyone from challenging current conceptions and existing institutions. All progress is initiated by challenging current conceptions, and executed by supplanting existing institutions. Consequently, the first condition of progress is the removal of censorship.” 

We claim to be a democracy, yet we do not allow ideas with which we disagree to be discussed. What kind of democracy is that? How can we have two of former prime minister Anand Panyarachun’s key Seven Pillars of Sustainable Democracy – tolerance and freedom of expression – while we censor that with which we disagree? It is hubris of the highest order for anyone to believe that he alone possesses all the information and wisdom needed to make the best decision all the time. 

Not only is censorship undesirable in principle, in practice it cannot be effectively implemented anyway. Anybody with access to the Internet can easily obtain any banned book or article from overseas.

Thus, for our democracy to advance, “abhorrent ideas need to be challenged by better ones, not banned” (John Farndon). Let us challenge current conceptions with reason and calmness, rather than the current rabblerousing by yellow and red shirts, government and opposition alike. Civil society should take the lead in seeking to shed light and not heat on the issues of the day.

Burin Kantabutra 

Bangkok