[lbo-talk] Mr. Churchill

Wojtek Sokolowski sokol at jhu.edu
Fri Feb 4 10:38:21 PST 2005


Doug:
> Good question. I thought that essay was a horrid piece of crap, but
> the guy should be allowed to speak in public and shouldn't get fired.

Why? If, say, a bus driver drives his bus recklessly, or if a doctor performs a crappy procedure in a reckless manner - most people would agree that these workers should face a disciplinary or even legal action for their miscounduct. Why are the symbol manipulating professions different?

I am just posing it as a hypothetical question. I understand that Churchill is being singled out and what's at stake here is not his sloppy writing but censorship - which does require a strong defence. But let's suppose that a university does institute a fairly balanced system of punishments for mental / research workers who willfully publish crap. Why is this wrong?

Wojtek



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