Democracy is founded on the principles of autonomy of the individual and faith in the competency and fundamental rational nature of all human beings. Using these principles as the major premises of my argument, I will attempt to demonstrate that censorship and book banning are impermissible because they violate the freedoms necessary for preserving democracy and the liberty that accompanies that democracy. According to traditional democratic theory, as described by leading American theorist Robert Dahl, …showed first 75 words of 3250 total…

…showed last 75 words of 3250 total…People, Politics, and Policy. 9th ed. New York: Longman, 200. Mill, John Stuart. "Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion." Morality and Moral Controversies. Ed. John Arthur. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1999. 359-362. The Freedom to Read Statement. American Library Association. 18 March 2001. http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/freeread.html. The Universal Right to Free _Expression: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights. American Library Association. 18 March 2001. http://www.ala.org/alaorg/aif/univ_exp.html.