The letter warns that the "free exchange of ideas" is getting closer every day.
London:
Recognized authors such as Salman Rushdie, JK Rowling and Margaret Atwood are among around 150 writers, artists and activists who sign an open letter to warn of the emergence of "forces of illiberalism" that affect freedom of expression.
The group, which includes American activist Naom Chomsky and Indian historian Meera Nanda, warns that the proliferation of "censorship" leads to "an intolerance of opposing views" and "a fashion for public shame and exclusion".
The open letter, published in Harper & # 39; s Magazine on Tuesday, recognizes the Black Lives Matter movement and other powerful protests for racist and social justice that lead to overdue calls for police reform, as well as broader calls for more equality and Inclusion in all areas of our society.
"But this necessary accounting has also reinforced a number of new moral attitudes and political commitments that tend to weaken our norms of open debate and tolerance of differences in favor of ideological conformity," she says.
"While we welcome the first development, we also raise our voices against the second. The forces of illiberalism are gaining strength worldwide and have a powerful ally in (US President) Donald Trump who poses a real threat to democracy." read.
The letter warns that the "free exchange of information and ideas", the lifeblood of a liberal society, is getting closer every day.
"While we expect this from the radical right, censorship continues to spread in our culture: an intolerance to opposing views, a fashion for public shame and exclusion, and the tendency to resolve complex political issues with dazzling moral certainty," Es adds.
The letter also condemns "disproportionate penalties" imposed on public shame targets by institutional leaders who carry out "panic damage control".
It continues to warn of fear spreading through art and the media.
"We are already paying the price for a greater risk aversion among writers, artists and journalists who fear for their livelihood if they deviate from the consensus or even do not show enough enthusiasm for the agreement," it says.
There was a large online response to the letter, with the Index on Censorship calling it an "important letter for open debate," but it was also criticized as an overreaction in some areas.
(This story was not edited by NDTV staff and is generated automatically from a syndicated feed.)
