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Grumpy

Enlightened?

I recently re-read On Liberty by John Stuart Mill. At least, I listened to it on Audible.

It was originally published in 1859. More than a century and half later we live in a time when de-platforming is common in universities around the World. Institutions where, surely, the free exchange of ideas is essential.

Mill talks about the tyranny of the masses and explains why even a single dissenting voice should be heard.

There’s an argument sometimes made that freedom of speech should stop at the point where someone takes offence. Well, I claim the right to listen to those views with which I profoundly disagree.

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