[LINK] Gillard backs internet filter

[Brendan Scott]

On 07/07/2010 11:15 PM, Robin Whittle wrote:

[]
 
> How is it that Western Civilisation has created a situation where
> most of the people in what should be the most progressive,
> enlightened, party in Australia support this crap?  I think it is a
> mixture of oppressive intent and culpable cluelessness.
> 
> This is not 1995, with the legislators and public are new to the
> Internet - many or most not having used it.  All the legislators and
> most of the voting public have been using the Net extensively for 10
> years.
> 
> So 15 years of the Internet supposedly improving people's ability to
> think freely, develop democracy etc. and it looks like this sort of
> rot could be passed by a parliament of a Western nation.

Largely I guess because: (a) those with political power have an interest in controlling others either via the State or via corporations; and (b) neither the Left nor the Right have a fundamental belief that individuals ought to be generally left to make their own choices.  The extreme on the left is national socialism and the extreme on the right is fascism.  There is no part of politics with an extremist wing which promotes unfettered freedom.  

Now that the cold war is over there is no political reason to promote individual liberty any more.  You ought to expect gradual and relentless encroachments on individual freedom - the last 20 years ought to be evidence enough.    

B