Abstract
What is censorship? Who is qualified to act as a censor and what right has he to prevent his fellow-citizens from receiving information, reading certain books or seeing certain films? What is wrong with the Official Secrets Act, and what are the limits of justified government secrecy? On the other hand, has the public a right to be protected against' offensive' matter which might otherwise be thrust upon it; and if so, should it be the private citizen who has to take legal action, as opposed to official intervention? The problems of privacy and confidentiality … the rights of the citizen in a democratic society … what are the rights of citizens in Third World countries with grave problems of poverty, political instability, racial conflict, and corruption … These and similar questions on a highly controversial subject are dealt with here by two members of our Editorial Board. Asked by Index to discuss censorship and to put their often divergent views, Stuart Hampshire, philosopher, critic, and Warden of Wadham College, Oxford, and the distinguished lawyer, Louis Blom-Cooper, QC, well known for his involvement in civil rights cases and his interest in South Africa, met in the peaceful atmosphere of the College to record a discussion, of which this is an edited version which we hope will provide food for thought and argument.
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