[lbo-talk] Cuba petition

[Jim Farmelant]

In an ideal world, one would have both full economic
rights and near absolute freedom of speech.  In the
real world though, one often has to make some painful
choices, so that one might well have to give up some
freedom of expression, in order to better secure such
economic rights as the right to education or the right
to have best healthcare, that one's society can afford.
It is a vulgar bourgeois prejudice, which privilages the
former over the latter.  In fact as Justin earlier pointed
out, even from a bourgeois liberal standpoint, the
restrictions that Cuba places on dissent can be justified
by the fact that the country lives under a constant state
of threat from its collosal neighbor to the north.

Jim F.

On Mon, 14 Apr 2003 18:23:19 EDT BrownBingb at aol.com writes:
> 
> 
> > So those signing that letter are the ones who will be able to 
> fight a Cuba
> > invasion if it comes to it-- not the folks being silent as gross 
> human
> > rights violations and executions happen there.
> > 
> > -- Nathan Newman
> 
> ^^^^^^^^^
> 
> CB: The response from Cuba that was posted would tend to contradict 
> your 
> claim that these are gross human rights violations.
> 
>  You are taking an abstract and isolated view of freedom of speech 
> unrelated 
> to other human rights. In a word, and I don't mean this as name 
> calling , but 
> analytically, your approach is  bourgeois-metaphysical .  Human 
> rights are a 
> bundle , a whole. Economic rights are human rights too. Speech that 
> tends to 
> undermine economic democracy , i.e. might lead to restoration of 
> capitalism, 
> is itself a violation of human rights.  The socialist and holistic 
> conception 
> of freedom of speech and all rights is that they involve not only 
> rights, but 
> responsibilities.  What your conception comes down to is "license of 
> speech" 
> not "freedom of speech".   Speech that tends to undermine other 
> freedoms is 
> not "free speech".  "Free speech' is also "freeing speech:". 
> 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> 

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