the politics of enlightenment vs repression

I realized yesterday that my commitment to free speech comes from my belief that it's morally and tactically better to enlighten people than repress them.

But too many people on the right and left love repression. McCarthyists and Maoists march in perfect step to its tune.

I believe enlightenment works best in the long run—revolutions with the best goals have failed when their leaders turned to repression. Good ideas are strong enough to bear critical buffeting. They grow stronger when they're...