Thoughtcrime
In George Orwell's dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four the government ("The Party" or Ingsoc) attempts to control not only the speech and actions, but also the thoughts of its subjects, labeling unapproved thoughts with the Newspeak term thoughtcrime.
In the book, Winston Smith, the main character, writes in his diary:
- Thoughtcrime does not entail death: thoughtcrime IS death.
He also makes remarks to the effect that "Thoughtcrime is the only crime that matters". This has been formulated as a corollary:
- Freedom of speech is not important for democracy: freedom of speech IS democracy.
Modern accusations
Some people believe governments may be currently enforcing laws that implement a de-facto kind of thoughtcrime legislation. Prime among the laws accused of this are hate crime laws that mandate harsher penalties for people who commit crimes out of racism or bigotry. Opponents of those laws claim that all crimes are committed out of an element of hate, so that defining a specific subset of laws as 'hate crimes' is meaningless, and that the government should outlaw actions, not thoughts or states of mind. Proponents argue that hate crimes are no exception to the fact that the state of mind of the perpetrator has always influenced the punishment for crimes; and they further argue that hate crime laws are the only way to ensure proper punishment of those who commit egregious crimes in the name of prejudice or bigotry.
Another example of borderline thoughtcrime behaviour is pedophilia. In 2000 the court in Lafayette, Indiana banned a man from parks, zoos, and golf courses after admitting to his psychologist that he had sexual fantasies about children he saw playing in the city park. The appeal was later denied.
Laws providing for involuntary commitment may also be open to accusations that they provide for thoughtcrimes, since those who have committed no crime may be denied their liberty simply because a court finds that they are a "danger to self or others", yet others who may really be a "danger to self or others" may remain free so long as they have not been convicted of a crime. Thus it is purely on the basis of the thought or mood of the involuntarily committed person that he is deprived of freedom.
See also
Further reading
- Kretzmer, David and Kershman, Hazan Francine (Eds.) (2000) "Freedom of Speech and Incitement Against Democracy". Kluwer Law International, The Hague, Netherlands. ISBN 90-411-1341-X
