[Ads-l] Orwell quotation about liberty and telling people what they do not want to hear

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

The following two statements have been attributed to George Orwell.

(1) Freedom is the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.

(2) If liberty means anything at all it means the right to tell people
what they do not want to hear.

The Quote Investigator website now has an entry on the topic:
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2020/07/06/hear-liberty/

Some quotation books claim that the first statement is in "The Road to
Wigan Pier" (1937) by George Orwell. However, I accessed the book and
was unable to find either statement. (I examined a scanned &
searchable 1958 edition.)

Orwell died in 1950. The second statement appeared in an essay
ascribed to Orwell that appeared in the September 15, 1972 issue of
“TLS: The Times Literary Supplement” of London. An accompanying
article by Bernard Crick explained that the essay had been
rediscovered in May 1971. Orwell originally planned to use the piece
as a preface to "Animal Farm", but it was omitted. Additional details
are available in the QI article.

Feedback welcome
Garson O'Toole
QuoteInvestigator.com

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