Er, no Charles. Just no.
Posted on Apr 26 2006 | Tagged as: Politics, Blogistan, The Stupid, Media
Charles Clarke responds to criticisms of the stream of news laws encroaching on civil liberties.
As with Tony’s response to Henry Porter in the Observer, the gist of the argument seems to be that people need protecting from terror/asbo-magnets/paedophiles.
Isaiah Berlin developed thinking on the balance of liberties - the balance between the freedom to act and freedom from the consequences of others’ actions, and George Monbiot summed it up nicely as “your freedom to swing your fists ends where my nose begins.”
Lets expand that analogy.
As we would on the whole rather be free from being punched than free to punch, punching someone is illegal. The host of new measures proposed is more like tying someone’s hands behind their back. Effective, but heavy-handed.
