New Plank: Freedom to Think

Recommended by a vote of 10 to 0

Summary

In reaction to various technological and social developments, government is threatening not only our ability to communicate ideas to other people ("freedom of expression"), but even how we are permitted to manipulate and store information for our own use – in our own minds and our own records. Some of these restrictions are only ideas for now, just waiting for some "incident" to give government an excuse to act, while others have already been enacted in various other countries and could spread here. This plank states our clear opposition to any government interference in such a fundamental feature of human life. (To be added after IV.3 Protection of Privacy.)

Text

The ability to think – including the abilities to reason, to hypothesize, to remember, and to imagine – is a fundamental characteristic of human beings, and the basis of individual, cultural, and economic progress. We oppose all efforts by government to interfere with thought, the ability of individuals to exercise their ability to think, and the use of technology to enhance their ability to think. We oppose any policies which would define certain ideas or ways of thinking to be "criminal", any attempts by government to restrict who can use computer hardware or software, any restrictions on individuals incorporating such technology voluntarily into their own bodies to enhance their ability to think, any attempts to regulate or tax the processing or storage of information, and any government mandate that existing knowledge be destroyed or "forgotten".