Censorious
Sir: In your otherwise excellent editorial of 24 September you write that the contribu-
tors to Index on Censorship arc 'particular- ly justified in complaining that the Govern- ment has ... no understanding of the nature or importance of academic freedom', and that `... these are right worries for a magazine concerned with censorship....'
The Government has not put before Parliament any bills which expand the small limitations on what an individual, be he an academic or otherwise, may research or publish in his spare time or, if he can find an individual or institution to support him, on a full time basis. All they have said is that they are going to be more selective about the quality of academics and academic research which they are going to ask the taxpayer to support.
While a reasonable argument could be made about the academic merits the Gov- ernment feels to be important, to suggest that it is engaging in censorship is as ridiculous as to suggest that were I to cancel my subscription to The Spectator after reading your editorial then I would be guilty of censoring you! The only freedom being limited in this case is that of academ- ics to spend other people's money without any regard as to their wishes.
Alastair C R James
20 Coopers Close, London El
Previous page
