This paper analyses J.S. Mill's theory on the relationships between individual autonomy and State powers. It will be argued that there is a significant discrepancy between Mill's general liberal statements aimed to secure individual largest possible autonomy and the specific examples which provide the government with quite wide latitude for interference in the public and private spheres. The paper outlines the boundaries of government interference in the Millian theory. Subsequently it describes Mill's elastic paternalism designed to prevent people from inflicting (...) harm upon others as well as upon themselves, from soft paternalism on issues like compulsory education to hard paternalism on very private matters such as marriage, having children, and divorce by consent. (shrink)

In this paper I will argue that Mill employs a tacit concept of competence in On Liberty. I will focus on the role of truth and individuality in On Liberty. Competence is a precondition for individuality, and as such, it is a threshold concept: those above the threshold are sensitive to rational argument and should be free to pursue happiness in their own way (because they are guided by the truth), whereas those who fail to meet this threshold should be (...) educated and paternalistically be kept out of harm's way until they are able to find the truth for and by themselves. (edited). (shrink)

In this article I analyze some of the troubling issues in Canadian media ethics, based on in-depth interviews with more than 50 experts on Canadian media. I begin by reflecting on the cultural considerations involved in the Canadian media's proximity to the United States. Subsequently, I discuss the problems of excessive ownership of the media by a few organizations, arguing that the right to exercise free expression does not include the right to own as many media organizations as money can (...) buy. In this context are considered the work of two Royal Commissions: the 1970 Davey Commission and the 1980 Kent Commission. Finally, I am concerned with excessive intrusion of individual privacy. When news becomes entertainment and private stories become public spectacle, individual lives can be mercilessly exposed to the glaring spotlight of unwanted publicity. In delineating the boundaries of intrusion, there is a need to distinguish between public figures and ordinary citizens, and between those who choose to live in the spotlight and ordinary citizens who stumble into the public eye. (shrink)

(2013). Freedom of Expression v. Social Responsibility: Holocaust Denial in Canada. Journal of Mass Media Ethics: Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 42-56. doi: 10.1080/08900523.2012.746119.