China blocks my youtube videos

Apparently my youtube videos have now been blocked from viewers in in China. Was it the one about how to drive in snow? That's still my most popular video, although nobody in China has seen it yet. Seriously though, time for a blog on free speech. I know, a video is not really speech, and actually the root of all free speech is free thought. Let's start there.

If you are interested, there was a book written in 1913 A History of Freedom of Thought: J. B. Bury. It is available online though the Gutenburg Project

Although free thought has obviously been around almost since humans could think, so has repression. For as soon as people live together in villages or even in families, some members wish their thoughts to prevail.

It is quite understandable why people should need some kind of repression of free thought. Not all thoughts are good, and nothing gets done if everyone insists on their own ideas. There has to be some kind of leadership, somebody needs to be the chief and the rest can do the work.

As ancient civilizations grew, methods of enforcing orthodox beliefs grew more violent. People were locked away or killed. Often, the executions were public to terrify the rest into keeping their opinions to themselves.

As technology improved, the free thinkers got the upper hand. The discovery of writing, then the printing press. Then radio, television, the Internet. Each one needed new techniques to suppress. Even improvements in farming technology promoted free thought as people were able to have more time to think and less to grow food.

Another method of suppressing freedom of thought non-violently is through propaganda. However, propaganda is a double edged sword in that free thinkers can use to spread their ideas more quickly.

Just as there are problems with freedom of thought, so too are there problems with blind orthodoxy and authoritarianism. The violence of repression often turns people away from the orthodox views. The suppression of free thought also deprives the society of scientific and medical advancements. Even in the military, it is important to have free thought just to come up with better ideas of how to win wars and develop weapons. Ultra-orthodox societies do not keep up with the times.

In the long run, it does seem as if freedom of thought is making progress. The worst problems with free thought are the sheer volume of ignorant thoughts that may be generated. So how can we tell which thoughts are good and bad, and still maintain some freedom of thought? Well let's start with "any thoughts you have that involve you killing or maiming somebody are not good" The Scientific Method, is a way to check thoughts against reality by experiment, measurement, and discussion. Universities are fertile ground for free thought, with discussions and exchange of ideas. In many advanced societies, democracy has been found to be a way to allow both freedom of thought and yet some orderly thinking in politics. Each side while in power has an incentive to treat everyone decently, and occasionally power changes hands to keep everyone honest.