on freedom of the press 论出版自由与审查制度 马克思.ppt

1、On Freedom of the Press, Censorship Karl Marx,李曦 衣小萌 刘海建 李媛媛 叶子一 徐晓桐 聂娆 柳亚楠,BACKGROUND,BACKGROUND,Written:May 1842; WRITTER: Karl Marx; First Published:May, 1842, in theRheinische Zeitung; Translated:from the German; Online Version:Marx/Engels Internet Archive ()1996,2000.,BACKGROUND,In

2、1823,Prussiaformed eight such parliaments. The election system based on the principle of landownership provided for a majority of the nobility in the assemblies.,They also had the right to express their desires on government bills. They were largely poweful, however, could only summoned by the Pruss

3、ian government, and then they were held in secret.,Furthermore, a two-thirds majority was required to pass resolutions. Since the knightly estate held 278 of the 584 parliamentary votes (the towns estate had 182 and the rural estate 124), nothing could be done against its wishes.,BACKGROUND,In 1841,

4、 Frederick William IV came to power and decreed parliaments would meet every two years and the secrecy surrounding them would be lifted.,That same year, a Konigsberg doctor named Johann Jacoby issued the pamphlet Four Questions Answered by an East Prussian, calling for the constitution promised afte

5、r Napoleons final defeat in 1815. For this, Jacoby was charged with treason. Among other things it opened a debate on censorship.,BACKGROUND,In March 1842, in the official government paperPreussische Allgemeine Staats-Zeitung(Prussian General State Gazette) ran a series of articles supporting censor

6、ship in order to enlighten the public concerning the true intentions of the Government.,The Sixth Rhine Province Assembly held debates, dealt with by Marx which took place during the discussion on publication of the proceedings of the assemblies and in connection with petitions of a number of towns

7、on freedom of the press.,Purpose,First of all, he wanted to show his attitude to the censorship and revolt the censorship to his article by the Prussian government. Marx devoted three articles to the debates of the Sixth Rhine Province Assembly, only two of which, the first and the third, were publi

8、shed. The second series of articles, devoted to the conflict between the Prussian Government and the Catholic Church, was banned by the censors.,Purpose,Secondly, Max wanted to raise the awareness of freedom among the public. Actually, the appearance of Marxs article in the press raised a favourable

9、 response in progressive circles and public.,Censorship,the suppression of speech, public communication or other information which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, politically incorrect or inconvenient as determined by governments, media outlets, authorities or other groups or in

10、stitutions.,Freedom of the press,the freedom of communication and expression through mediums including various electronic media and published materials.,Freedom of the press,Censorship,Bad police measure - punish not crimes but opinions.,Public opinions against the will of the authority,Censorship,S

11、upposed to prevent arbitrariness censored press - demoralizing effect. Every human is imperfect! The censor hears only its own voice, yet it harbours the illusion that it hears the voice of the people, and it demands that the people, too, should itself harbour this illusion. dishonest in its intenti

12、on actually arbitrariness,Free press,As Marx puts it: the ubiquitous vigilant eye of a peoples soul, the embodiment of a peoples faith in itself, the eloquent link that connects the individual with the state and the world, the embodied culture that transforms material struggles into intellectual str

13、uggles and idealizes their crude material form.,freedom of the press is a fine thing, and something which embellishes the sweet customary mode of life, a pleasant, worthy thing. But there are also bad persons, who misuse speech to tell lies, the brain to plot, the hands to steal, the feet to desert.

14、 Speech and thought, hands and feet would be fine things good speech, pleasant thought, skilful hands, most excellent feet if only there were no bad persons to misuse them! “you cannot pluck the rose without its thorns.”,Free press,My interpretation : it provides the truly public space in which soci

15、al and political struggles can be articulated and debated, and with a consequently much better chance of their being understood and resolved. Without a free press, there is little hope of meeting the challenges set by difficult and changing economic circumstances.,“Lack of freedom is the real mortal danger for mankind.”,The reasonability of