Political Science · Western Political Thought
UGC NET June 2019 Political Science
Who stated that placing restrictions on freedom of expression of human beings is like robbing the present and the future races?
AJS Mill ✓ Correct
BJohn Locke
CIsaiah Berlin
DF. A. Hayek
Correct answer: (A) JS Mill — The statement that suppressing free expression robs both present and future generations is John Stuart Mill's.
Explanation
★The statement that suppressing free expression robs both present and future generations is John Stuart Mill's.
★It comes from On Liberty, in his defence of complete freedom of thought and discussion.
★Mill argues that silencing an opinion robs the human race, those who dissent and those who agree.
★If the opinion is true, we lose the chance to exchange error for truth; if false, we lose the clearer perception of truth that comes from its collision with error.
★Even a wholly false opinion is useful, since it keeps true belief from decaying into dead dogma.
★This is the core of his case for liberty of thought and expression.
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