The
Convention on Modern Liberty took place on Saturday: I had a somewhat clashing fixture and there was no event taking place in the North-East (grumble grumble), so I was unable to attend. I did, however, watch some of the live video and read the un-proofed transcript of David Davis' speech. A very good speech it was, too; as was Lord Bingham's, which you can see
via a link to the Convention's
video page.
There is also a list of
pledges made by organisations which supported the jamboree, and it is on this that I would like to pass comment. For the most part, they are straight-up civil liberties statements. A few of them, such as the Institute of Ideas', stray slightly into the political, but normally with a "freedom" case behind them. The problem comes with these two:
Liberty/11 Million
“Using technology originally designed to scare away vermin, the ‘Mosquito’ is a device that emits a very high frequency buzzing sound which cannot be heard by people over the age of 25. What type of society uses a low-level sonic weapon on its children? The ‘Mosquito’ has no place in a country that values its children and seeks to instill them with dignity and respect. Join 11 MILLION and Liberty by supporting the ‘Buzz Off’ campaign to ban the Mosquito.”The Nuclear Consultation Group
The ‘Justification’ of new nuclear reactors in the UK is a key issue for environmental justice, civil liberties and democracy. The Nuclear Consultation Group urgently calls “for an independent inquiry into the Justification of new nuclear power in the UK as allowed for under the regulations governing Justification.”
Liberty arguing for a ban on how land-owners protect their own property seems a little out of place. I do not care for the Mosquito either—although I suspect I have left the age when it would physically bother me!—nevertheless, I cannot see a civil liberties case for a ban. The corner shop near where I grew up eventually got so fed up of petty theft by kids trailing home from school, they had a "two at a time" rule for under-18s. In another situation, a shopkeeper might decide that he would sooner keep all the under-18s at bay and risk the decrease in trade by using a Mosquito. Surely the protection of your own property is a pretty important civil liberty?
As for opposing nuclear power on civil liberties grounds, well frankly, anyone with that view needs their head examined. Oppose it on environmental or economic grounds and I shall respectfully disagree; but to claim that nuclear power infringes civil liberties tarnishes the campaign, by making it appear more a left-wing political agenda than a campaign for freedom. A similar thing was seen when Philip Pullman, Brian Eno and a questioner made a link with climate change: as one commenter to the CML site put it,
Liberty and freedom of expression are fundamental to us all regardless of where we stand on other issues. Given the general acquiescence – whether positive or apathetic – to the measures that we find so alarming, it is clear that we will need to work hard for support: if we appear to be a Trojan Horse for the environment [or any other non-liberty agenda—Ed.], we exacerbate the risk of fracturing our support.
The Convention on Modern Liberty was a great time for campaigners to get together across the country, and for all of us who could not make it to be encouraged as well. Don't let's get liberty muddled up with politics.
2 comments:
Should the Mosquito be banned? Hmm. I don't know about banning it as such - share your distaste for "banning" as the answer to every problem - but its existence and use says some pretty unappealing things about our country's attitude towards children and young people.
If you installed a piece of equipment that played loud, obnoxious noises (at a lower frequency than the Mosquito!) every time someone over 50 walked by your premises, you'd probably end up on the receiving end of prosecutions for public order offences and noise abatement. It's only because under-18s don't have the vote (and are despised by many who do) that people can get away with installing the Mosquito in the first place.
And the "private property" defence is a red herring anyway. If someone is stood outside your shop, then they're on public property, and have every right to be there without being molested by age-discriminatory audio harassment devices.
Oh blimey, I hate Blogger sometimes. Lost an entire comment.
Basically, I agree it's more nuanced than that (particularly the private property point; although note that you could run a Mozzie inside your own premises without infringing), but I was wanting to point out that Liberty's own position was ignoring the nuance! To do that, I needed to ignore the arguments against Mozzies and focus on a couple of the ones for. Overall, as I said, I don't much like them.
Above that, you've got to keep the Mozzie point in its context: the CML needs to keep its nerve, avoid mission creep, and form a grand alliance of the willing. If it fails, it will be a coalition of the cosy: Guardian-munching, muesli-wearing, sandal-making, yoghurt-reading, left-leaning sorts; and any chance of change will be as good as lost.
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