Freedom for Sale
moderated by Tarun Tejpal.
Speakers: John Kampfner, Anne Applebaum, Meghnad Desai, Steve Coll, Niall Ferguson
Journalist Tarun Tejpal started with a brief summary of two major stories his magazine, Tehelka, covered in this context: one was a report on jailed Maoist Dr Binayak Sen, and the other, The Rape Testimonies, focused on foreign women travellers who were raped by policemen in Maoist-infested areas of India. Each of them testified, but till date, no action has been taken against the perpetrators of the crimes. Tejpal also briefly touched upon what he termed "draconian" laws like the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), which he stressed must be done away with in order to prevent human rights violations in India in the future. John Kampfner spoke next, outlining why he set out to write a book on the correlation between rising consumerism and diminishing freedom; Kampfner used eight countries as models to illustrate his theory. Kampfner maintained that there needed to be a redefining of freedom, between public freedom — freedom of the press, of public expression — and private freedom. By private freedom, he referred to the choice "to lead an atomised life, as you wish. Freedom to make and spend your money." For the majority, he said, "these private freedoms suffice".
The next speaker, Anne Applebaum, is writing a book on the 1940s and 50s, based in Central Europe. "In this period, most people began to struggle for their own families," she said. "In Russia [for example], you have a very particular kind of wealth; state-controlled, no entrepreneurial growth. In countries where the state maintains economic control, there is little choice or opportunity for change." Applebaum particularly
disagreed with Kampfner's premise that rising consumerism was killing off freedom, even in non-totalitarian-regime-ruled states. "I don't see the connection between wealth and loss of freedom," she said, contradicting Kampfner's premise that "consumers provide the ultimate anaesthetic for comfort."
Niall Ferguson, who was at Oxford with Kampfner, said the sample size of countries was minuscule, and disagreed with his Oxonian mate that "capitalism is against freedom. People abandoned individual freedom altogether to create totalitarian regimes. In order to become oligarchs, people are willing to make trade-offs.... As long as there or less autonomous institutions, then freedom will flourish. Freedom of thought is needed to produce, for example, a Google."
Lord Meghnad Desai spoke "strictly in my capacity as a legislator." He said many more violations were coming to light "because we have far better instruments of dissemination now. The UK Parliament is subject to the EU code of human rights. Again and again, the rights of terrorists have been staunchly debated by the House if Lords. We wanted to make sure the govt had a proper case when they wanted to incarcerate even a terrorists." Desai said the final test lay in protecting the rights of those who perpetrate evil. "That's the ultimate test of a democracy."He also opposed the consumerism-against-freedom hypothesis. "Consumerism is not the opium of the masses. We're actually advancing inch by inch in our fight for human rights. I think you're not old enough to be despairing; and neither am I."
Coll also commented on freedom in America, post the 9/11 Pentagon and twin-tower attacks. "What is the nature of terrorism and how does one survive in an environment of insecurity?" And India, where "there are very few instances where people are afraid to speak, even where the state has perpetrated extra-judicial actions. There is a pervasive culture of redress."
