I would like to apologize to all the pygmy folks in advance for dragging their name into this conversation, but going back to the post of Macacas and Moral Pygmies, somewhere along the lines I had touched on about how readily Indians would give up their civil liberties for the “overall good”
This is a very unscientific poll but if you asked people across the country in India whether they would allow the government to tap their cell phones to keep them safe from terrorists, a large majority would approve, irrespective of their caste, region, religion or socio-economic status.
This is not unscientific anymore. [link]
India: Ready to sacrifice freedom of press for “greater good”?
img: via BBC
In a worldwide scientific poll on the importance of freedom of press, India is among the trailing nations when it comes to the citizens rating freedom of press as important.
The strongest endorsement came from North America and Western Europe, where up to 70% put freedom first, followed by Venezuela, Kenya and South Africa, with over 60%.
In India, Singapore and Russia, by contrast, more people favoured stability over press freedom.
Translation: Indians picked social stability and peace even if it comes at the cost of a free press. However, all is not lost when it come to freedom of press in India.
Indians are among the top ranking nations when it comes to people’s perception of how free their press really is.
People were also asked to rate how free the press and broadcasters were in their country to report the news truthfully and without undue bias.
Perceptions varied widely among developing countries, ranging from 81% giving a high rating in Kenya, to 41% in Mexico.
In India, 72% of respondents thought their media were free, compared with just 36% in Singapore.
In short, the message from Indians seems to be that the press has too much freedom and some of it could be curbed for the “larger good”. To me, it comes across a case of “sticking it to the man“, where the man or the establishment in this case is a free press.
So what is your personal opinion? Is freedom of press and other civil liberties essential and needs to stay or grow for a better society? Or is freedom of press overrated? Are you in favor of curbing them in favor of social stability, peace and the “larger good”?
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