The Green Book: Part One

Chapter Ten

            THE PRESS
             

  The natural person has freedom to          |Democracy
express himself even if, when he is          |means
mad, he behaves irrationally to ex-          |popular rule
press his madness. The corporate per-        |not popular
son also is free to express his corporate    |expression
identity. In these cases, the first repre-
sents only himself, and the second
represents no more than the group of
natural persons composing his corpo-
rate person. The society consists of
many natural and many corporate per-
sons. Therefore, when a person, for
instance, expresses himself in an irra-
tional manner, that does not mean that
the other persons of the society also
are mad. The expression of a natural
person is only self-expression, and that
of a corporate person is only the ex-
pression of the interests or viewpoints
of persons forming the corporate per-
son. For example, the company for the
production and sale of tobacco only
expresses the interests of the partici-
pants in that company, i.e. those who
benefit from the production and sale of

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tobacco although it is harmful to the
health of others.
  The press is a means of expression of
the society and is not a means of
expression of a natural or corporate
person. Logically and democratically,
the press, therefore, cannot be owned

by either of these.
  Any newspaper owned by an indi-
vidual is his own and expresses only
his point of view. Any claim that a
newspaper represents public opinion is
groundless because it actually ex-
presses the viewpoints of a natural
person. Democratically, a natural per-
son should not be permitted to own any
means of publication or information.
However he has the natural right to
express himself by any means, even if
it is in an irrational manner to prove
his madness. Any journal issued by a
trading association or by a chamber of
commerce is only a means of express-
ion for this particular social group. It
presents its own point of view and not
the viewpoint of public opinion. This
applies to all other corporate and natu-
ral persons in society. The democratic
press is that which is issued by a

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popular committee comprising all the
various categories of society. In this
case only, and not otherwise, will the
press or any information medium be
an expression of the whole society and
a bearer of the viewpoint of its categor-
ies and thereby the press or informa-
tion medium will be indeed demo-
cratic.
  If the Medical Association issues a
journal, it must be purely medical.
Similarly this applies to other categor-
ies. The natural person has the right to
express only himself and he is not
entitled from the democratic point of
view to express anybody else. In this
way, what is called the problem of
press freedom in the world will be
solved radically and democratically.
The continuing problem of press free-
dom in the world today is generally the
product of the problem of democracy.
It cannot be solved unless the entire
crisis of democracy in the whole socie-
ty is solved. Only the Third Universal

Theory can solve the intricate problem
of democracy.
  According to this theory, the demo-
cratic system is a cohesive structure

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whose foundations are firmly laid on
basic popular congresses,  people's
committees and professional associa-
tions. All these come together in the
General People's Congress. Absolute-
ly, there is no other conception for a
genuine democratic society.
  Finally, the era of the masses, which
approaches us at a rapid pace follow-
ing the era of the republics, inflames
the feelings and dazzles the eyes. As
much as this era gladly announces the  
real freedom of the masses and their 
happy emancipation from the shackles
of instruments of governing so much it
warns of the approach of an age of
anarchy and demagogy if the new
democracy, which is the authority of
the people, does not relapse and the 
authority of the individual, class, tribe,
sect or party again comes to pre-
dominate.
  Theoretically, this is the genuine
democracy.  But  realistically, the
strong always rule, i.e., the stronger
part in the society is the one that rules.

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 *** END OF PART ONE OF THE GREEN BOOK ***


Table of Contents of Part Two of the Green Book

Table of Contents of Part One of the Green Book 

Overview of the Green Book