Censorship as a Human Dynamic: An International Perspective

Abstract

By their very nature, democracies around the world affirm belief in intellectual freedom of thought, speech and written word. In every such society, however, a counterforce exists that would limit such freedom and impose restrictions and sanctions against material viewed by some as anti-moral or anti-social. Free speech and censorship are opponents on a battlefield where each side to the conflict feels a righteous and indignant claim on behalf on its own cause. This paper presents a psychological perspec…