The Eclectic Model of Censorship

Abstract

Censorship used to be a very dull subject. Aligned along predictable and venerable divisions separating liberals from conservatives, oriented toward ancient and well-rehearsed chestnuts such as obscenity and national security, the topic promised little of analytic interest. In recent years, however, the landscape of censorship has altered dramatically. Now feminists in Indianapolis join with fundamentalist Christians to seek the regulation of pornography. Critical race theorists join with Jesse Helms to regulate hate speech. Advocates of abortion rights seek to restrict political demonstrations while conservative pro-life groups defend the freedom to picket (p. 1).