December 3, 2023

Non-partisan and pluralist communication and debate platform

Home » Content » Vargas Llosa and 100 other signatories support Harper’s manifesto for democracy
The intransigence and dogmatism that have been making their way between a certain left, will only reinforce conservative and national-populist political positions and, like a boomerang, will turn against the changes that many of us consider unavoidable to achieve a more fair and friendly coexistence. From these lines, we seek the support of those who share the concern about the censorship that is exerted on the debate on certain issues that become new ideological taboos, which are supposedly untouchable and indisputable. Free culture is not harmful to disadvantaged social groups: on the contrary, we believe that culture is emancipatory and censorship, however well-intentioned it may appear, counterproductive. As the signatories to the Harper's manifesto think, "Overcoming bad ideas is achieved through open debate, argumentation and persuasion, and not by silencing or repudiating them."

19/07/2020

Harper’s Magazine


A manifesto that calls for strengthening democracy and the rule of law, published in Harper’s magazine by intellectuals of various backgrounds and ideology, has been received with shouts and stones by the same intransigence that he criticized. The reaction has pushed a diverse group of Spanish scientists, academics, writers and journalists to launch a letter of support.


Written from a progressive point of view, but inviting people of different sensibilities and positions, the Spanish letter has brought together a heterogeneous and transversal group. Reactionary and polarized drifts that propose cancellation and lynching are criticized as a means to achieve any end, regardless of how valuable or shared it is.


There have been unexpected accessions: progressives, conservatives and liberals have contributed their signature. Some have stated that there are points in the letter that they do not share, and even misgivings towards other signatories, but in a compromise exercise in tune with the spirit of the text, they have decided to adhere. No veto has been accepted, and many absences are due to promoters’ lack of skill and their limited schedule. So there are not all who could appear, and among the signatories there is no monolithic opinion.

Some have stated that they do not share, but in a compromise exercise in tune with the spirit of the text, they have decided to adhere

Representatives of culture sign as the Nobel Prize for Literature Mario Vargas Llosa, Milena Busquets, Sergi Pàmies, César Antonio Molina, Mercedes Monmany, Ignacio Martínez de Pisón, Loola Pérez, Oscar Tusquets, Jimina Sabadú, Nicole d’Amonville, Alberto Olmos, Nuria Azancot, José Luis López Linares, Karina Sainz Borgo, Eduardo Moga, Carmen Posadas, Carlos Granés, Alexis Ravelo, Eva Serrano, Luis Alberto de Cuenca, José María Merino, María Zaragoza, Pedro Insua, Juan Soto Ivars, Daniel Gascón, María Borrás, Elvira Roca Barea, Fernando Savater, Félix Ovejero, Verónica Puertollano y Amelia Pérez de Villar, between others.

From the field of science and the university, people like, Jaume Casals (rector of UPF), Adela Cortina (Emeritus Professor of Ethics and Political Philosophy at the University of Valencia), Pablo de Lora (Professor of Philosophy of Law at the UAM), José Manuel Blecua (RAE), Pablo Malo (psychiatrist), Antonio Sitges-Serra (surgeon and writer), Anna Estany, (Professor of Philosophy of Science, UAB), José Lázaro(Professor of Medical Humanities at UAM), Joan Josep Moreso, (Professor of Philosophy of Law, UPF), Olga Valverde (Professor of Psychobiology at UPF), Manuel Hernández Iglesias (Professor of Logic and Philosophy of Science, UM), Eduardo Sánchez Iglesias, (professor of Political Sciences and Sociology at UCM), Pere Mestres, (Saarland University, Germany), Eduardo Spagnolo (epidemiologist); and doctors as Juan GérvasMercedes Pérez-FernándezLuis Palomo,Cayetano RodríguezMarc Antoni Broggi o Alberto Planes.

From the field of journalism, figures like Nacho Cardero (El Confidencial), Guillem Martínez (ctxt), Patricia López (Público), Diego A. Manrique (El País), Anna Grau (La Sexta), David Torres (Público),Joaquim Coll (El Periódico), Ricardo Dudda (Letras Libres), Ignacio Varela (El Confidencial), Leyre Iglesias (El Mundo), Cristina Casabón(The Objective), Arcadi Espada (El Mundo), Víctor Lenore (VozPópuli), Teodoro León Gross (El País), Rafael Latorre (Onda Cero), Jorge Bustos (El Mundo), Juan Cruz (El País) Juan Luis Cebrián (El País),Rebeca Argudo (El Español), Javier Benegas (Disidentia), Daniel Arjona(El Confidencial), Julio Valdeón (La Razón), Pablo Blázquez (Ethics), Ramón de España (Crónica Global), o Víctor Amela (La Vanguardia), between others.

And people from other areas ranging from law, such as lawyers Guadalupe SánchezCarlos Sánchez AlmeidaCristina Moreno o Borja Adsuara), enterprise (Borja Sémper) political scientist (Aurora Nacarino-BraboXabel VegasCésar Calderón o Verónica Fumanal), or theater, with Goyo Jiménez.

The letter

We are of the opinion that the letter sent to HARPER’S by writers and intellectuals of various political origins and tendencies, within a liberal, progressive and democratic current, contains an important message.

We want to make clear that we join the movements that fight not only in the United States but globally against the scourges of society such as sexism, racism or contempt for immigrants, but we also express our concern about the perverse use of just causes to stigmatize people who are not sexist or xenophobic or, more generally, to introduce censorship, cancellation and rejection of free, independent, and alien thought to intransigent political correctness. Unfortunately, in the last decade we have witnessed the irruption of ideological currents, supposedly progressive, characterized by radicalism, and which appeals to such causes to justify attitudes and behaviors that we consider unacceptable.

We support movements that fight against the scourges of society, but we also express our concern about their evil use

Thus, we regret that there have been reprisals in the media against intellectuals and journalists who have criticized the opportunistic abuses of #MeToo or new age anti-slavery; Retaliation that has also become evident in our country through discreet or noisy maneuvers of ostracism and forgetfulness against free thinkers unfairly branded as macho or racist and mistreated in the media, if not lynched in the networks. Of all this (layoffs, cancellation of congresses, boycotts of professionals) business leaders, institutional representatives, editors and editorial managers have special responsibility, fearful of the negative repercussion that they may have for the opinions dissenting with the hegemonic approaches in certain sectors.

The ideological conformity that the new radicality tries to impose – which is so similar to superstitious or extreme right censorship – has an undemocratic foundation and implies an attitude of moral supremacism that we believe is inappropriate and contrary to the postulates of any ideology that is claimed “Of justice and progress”.

The intransigence that has been making its way between a certain left will only reinforce conservative political positions

As if that were not enough, the intransigence and dogmatism that have been making their way between a certain left, will only reinforce conservative and national-populist political positions and, like a boomerang, will turn against the changes that many of us consider unavoidable to achieve a more fair and friendly coexistence.

From these lines, we seek the support of those who share the concern about the censorship that is exerted on the debate on certain issues that become new ideological taboos, which are supposedly untouchable and indisputable.

Free culture is not harmful to disadvantaged social groups: on the contrary, we believe that culture is emancipatory and censorship, however well-intentioned it may appear, counterproductive. As the signatories to the Harper’s manifesto think, “Overcoming bad ideas is achieved through open debate, argumentation and persuasion, and not by silencing or repudiating them.”

Signatories, in alphabetical order:

Juan Abreu, escritor

Rafael Alarcón, ingeniero industrial

José María Albert de Paco, periodista

Víctor Amela, periodista y escritor

Nicole d’Amonville Alegría, poeta, traductora y editora

Rebeca Argudo, periodista

Daniel Arjona, periodista

Javier Arias, decano de la Facultad de Medicina, U. Complutense

Francesc Arroyo, periodista

Mikel Arteta, doctor en Filosofía Moral y Política

Javier Asensio, profesor de economía, UAB

Nuria Azancot, crítica cultural

Beatriz Becerra, eurodiputada experta en DDHH

Javier Benegas, editor en Disidentia

María Blanco, columnista

Pablo Blázquez, editor de Ethics

José Manuel Blecua, filólogo (RAE)

Marc Antoni Broggi, cirujano

María Borrás Blancaflor, directora de Qué Leer

Milena Busquets, escritora

Jorge Bustos, periodista

César Calderón, consultor político

Cristian Campos, periodista

Nacho Cardero, director de El Confidencial

Cristina Casabón, columnista

Jaume Casals, Rector Universitat Pompeu Fabra

David Castillo, escritor

Juan Luis Cebrián, periodista

Joaquim Coll, historiador y articulista

Álvaro Colomer, escritor

Jesús Conill Sancho, Catedrático de Filosofía Moral de la Universidad de Valencia

Adela Cortina, catedrática emérita de Ética y Filosofía Política de la Universidad de Valencia

Juan Cruz, periodista

Luis Alberto de Cuenca, poeta

Antonio Diéguez Lucena, profesor de filosofía de la ciencia

Ricardo Dudda, periodista

Arcadi Espada, periodista

Ramón de España, columnista

Anna Estany, catedrática de filosofía de la ciencia, UAB

Manuel Felices, cirujano

Jorge Ferrer, traductor y escritor.

Verónica Fumanal, consultora política

Luis García Gil, escritor

Javier García-Gibert, filólogo y ensayista

Daniel Gascón, periodista y escritor

Juan Gérvas, médico y escritor

Meritxell Girvent, Profesora de Nutrición Humana. UPF

Santiago González, periodista

Teresa Giménez Barbat, escritora y ex eurodiputada

Carlos Granés, escritor

Mariano Hernández, psiquiatra

Manuel Hernández Iglesias, Catedrático de Lógica y Filosofía de la Ciencia

Juanjo de la Iglesia, periodista

Leyre Iglesias, periodista en El Mundo

Pedro Insua, profesor de filosofía

Juan Irigoyen. profesor de sociología, U. De Granada

Diego Isabel, Director Foro de Nueva Economía e Innovación Social

Juanjo Jambrina, escritor y psiquiatra

Tomás Jiménez, profesor U. Oberta Catalunya

Leopoldo Kulesz, editor

Rafa Latorre, periodista

José Lázaro, profesor de Humanidades Médicas en la UAM

Gloria de la Llave Cuevas, profesora de filosofía y escritora

Víctor Lenore, periodista cultural

Teodoro León Gross, periodista

Patricia López, periodista

José Luis López Linares, director de documentales

Pablo de Lora, profesor titular de Filosofía del Derecho de la UAM.

Ignacio Martínez de Pisón, escritor

David Mejía, profesor y columnista

Sabino Méndez, escritor y músico

Pablo Malo, psiquiatra

Diego A. Manrique, periodista

Guillem Martínez, periodista

José María Merino, escritor y miembro de la RAE

Pere Mestres, Saarland University (Alemania)

Eduardo Moga, poeta.

Alejandro Molina, abogado

César Antonio Molina, poeta

Mercedes Monmany, escritora

JA Montano, columnista

Cristina Moreno, abogada, Política & Prosa

Joan Josep Moreso, catedrático de filosofía del derecho, UPF

Enrique Murillo, editor

Aurora Nacarino-Brabo, politóloga

Miquel Nadal Tárrega, historiador y abogado

Pedro Narváez, periodista

Jesús Nieto Jurado. Escritor, columnista y actor de doblaje

Alberto Olmos, escritor

Félix Ovejero, filósofo

Luis Palomo, médico, director “Salud 2000”

Sergi Pàmies, escritor

Amelia Pérez de Villar, traductora

Loola Pérez, escritora y sexóloga feminista

Lluís Pascual, economista

Mercedes Pérez-Fernández, médica y escritora

Ariel Petrucelli, profesor de historia, Universidad de Comahue, Argentina

Alberto Planes, médico de familia

Carmen Posadas, escritora

Ponç Puigdevall, escritor

Jaime Prat, catedrático emérito de patología, UAB

Verónica Puertollano, traductora

Alexis Ravelo, escritor

Maite Rico, periodista

Javier Rioyo, escritor y cineasta

Elvira Roca Barea, escritora

Cayetano Rodríguez, médico

Jimina Sabadú, escritora

Karina Sainz Borgo, escritora

Josep Sampera, gestor cultural

Guadalupe Sánchez, abogada

Galo Sánchez, Evalmed

Carlos Sánchez Almeida, abogado

Eduardo Sánchez Iglesias, profesor de Ciencias Políticas y Sociología de la UCM

Ferran Sanz, catedrático de informática biomédica, UPF

Fernando Savater, filósofo

Borja Sémper, expolítico

Montse Serrano, librera

Eva Serrano, editora

Antonio Sitges-Serra, escritor y cirujano

Juan Soto Ivars, escritor y columnista

Eduardo Spagnolo, epidemiólogo

Manuel Toscano, filósofo

David Torres, escritor y periodista en Público

Ferran Toutain, escritor

Oscar Tusquets, artista disperso

Jesús Fernández Úbeda, periodista

Julio Valdeón, periodista

Zoe Valdés, escritora

Olga Valverde (catedrática de Psicobiología de la UPF)

Ignacio Varela, periodista

Mario Vargas Llosa, Premio Nobel de Literatura

Xabel Vegas, columnista

Ramiro Villapaderna, periodista y gestor cultural

María Zaragoza, escritora

https://www.elconfidencial.com/cultura/2020-07-19/manifiesto-harpers-libertad-de-expresion_2688296/

OpenKat

View all posts

Add comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *