Censorship and two types of self-censorship

Cook, Philip and Heilmann, Conrad (2010) Censorship and two types of self-censorship. LSE Choice Group working paper series (vol. 6, no. 2). The Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science (CPNSS), London School of Economics, London, UK.

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Abstract

We propose and defend a distinction between two types of self-censorship: public and private. In public self-censorship, individuals restrain their expressive attitudes in response to public censors. In private self-censorship, individuals do so in the absence of public censorship. We argue for this distinction by introducing a general model which allows us to identify, describe, and compare a wide range of censorship regimes. The model explicates the interaction between censors and censees and yields the distinction between two types of self-censorship. In public self-censorship, the censee aligns her expression of attitudes according to the public censor. In private self-censorship, the roles of censor and censee are fullled by the same agent. The distinction has repercussions for normative analysis: principles of free speech can only be invoked in cases of public self-censorship.

Item Type:	Monograph (Working Paper)
Official URL:	http://www2.lse.ac.uk/CPNSS/Home.aspx
Additional Information:	© 2010 The authors
Divisions:	Government CPNSS
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General) H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform
Date Deposited:	29 Mar 2010 08:49
Last Modified:	11 Sep 2025 04:22
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/27595

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