The appearance of the idea of essential freedoms related to information The "Areopagitica'' of Milton

Abstract

The starting-point, in the field of Political Theory, of every reflection about the essential liberties concerning information was the publication of John Milton's Areopagitica in 17th century England. With this work, which considerably influenced the democratic juridical thought in the age of the triumph of Constitutionalism, the British writer bequeathed to posterity propositions and theses that would not only become the principal arguments used nowadays for criticizing the State mechanisms of censorship, but also the basis of the liberal conception of the law of information. In this particular moment, when the necessity of transcending this conception becomes evident, a new reading of Milton's discourse seems imperative in order to restore his original idea of the liberty of information, which is actually broader and certainly more adequate as intellectual foundation for today's legislators than the traditional liberal concept.