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Yes, we in the CPGB are perfectly prepared to use the no-platform tactic under certain circumstances, but we oppose the traditional far-left approach, which boils everything down to often pointless displays of physical force or, in the shape of UAF, a liberalistic, ‘something must be done’ howl. But it is a profound mistake to elevate no-platform into a principle.
Furthermore, our insistence on freedom of speech is programmatically linked to our overall conception of socialism - which is rooted in the entire Marxist world view. Plainly, to reject freedom of speech is to reject Marxism itself and hence the entire project of universal human emancipation - it is hardly an optional add-on. Why? Socialism, the first stage of communism, can only be the act of self-liberation for the great majority, by the great majority - not merely the winning of a parliamentary majority. Therefore it follows that the working class cannot be treated as little children incapable of handling awkward and complicated questions - children who need to be protected from bad ideas.
full: http://weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/1045/did-free-speech-allow-the-nazis-to-come-to-power/
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