Don't mess with Assange
Gautam Siddharth
Gautam Siddharth
06 December 2010, 04:47 PM IST
The media insurgent trenchantly pitted against what he describes as "institutional hierarchies" that snuff out the greatest human values of truth, love and freedom, finds inspiration from libertarian socialists whose philosophy has traditionally flirted with anarchy.
But Assange is not an anarchist. Calling Assange an anarchist is like holding Hegel responsible for Nazism. The question is not whether Assange is pushing the envelope of liberal freedoms. Rather, it is, "Freedom to what end?"
There is a strong case for democratization of knowledge and information, which we all know is power. Wikileaks expose the hypocrisy of institutional hierarchies that Assange wants to expose. His work makes a hugely more transparent and honest dialog between countries and their governments an imperative for all. The freedom that Assange exercises is brilliantly creative. As the poet would have said, "He has beaten the barons in their own game." His is a blow against the cloak-and-dagger ops that establishments world over have perfected, but are now running for cover. Assange is the first champion of IRTI -- International Right to Information!
May the force be with him...
The media insurgent trenchantly pitted against what he describes as "institutional hierarchies" that snuff out the greatest human values of truth, love and freedom, finds inspiration from libertarian socialists whose philosophy has traditionally flirted with anarchy.
But Assange is not an anarchist. Calling Assange an anarchist is like holding Hegel responsible for Nazism. The question is not whether Assange is pushing the envelope of liberal freedoms. Rather, it is, "Freedom to what end?"
There is a strong case for democratization of knowledge and information, which we all know is power. Wikileaks expose the hypocrisy of institutional hierarchies that Assange wants to expose. His work makes a hugely more transparent and honest dialog between countries and their governments an imperative for all. The freedom that Assange exercises is brilliantly creative. As the poet would have said, "He has beaten the barons in their own game." His is a blow against the cloak-and-dagger ops that establishments world over have perfected, but are now running for cover. Assange is the first champion of IRTI -- International Right to Information!
May the force be with him...
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