Ian Buruma argues against legislation on history

In an article posted on Project Syndicate, the Dutch writer Ian Buruma considers a recently adopted Spanish law on historical remembrance. "Opening up the past to public scrutiny is part of maintaining an open society. But when governments do so, history can easily become a weapon to be used against political opponents – and thus be as damaging as banning historical inquiries. ... Government intervention is justified only in a very limited sense. Many countries enact legislation to stop people from inciting others to commit violent acts, though some go further. ... But even if extreme caution is sometimes understandable, it may not be wise, as a matter of general principle, to ban abhorrent or simply cranky views of the past. Banning certain opinions, no matter how perverse, has the effect of elevating their proponents into dissidents."

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