Page 1252 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 24 April 1990
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I think it is worth observing that that feature of small "l" liberalism pertains not just to small "l" liberalism but also to other sorts of political philosophies, like libertarianism and even anarchy. I think that liberalism diverges from these philosophies in that it asserts that personal liberties can be developed and maintained only in the context of the life of a society. The freedom of the individual can be realised only in the context of a network of compromises with the rights and freedoms of others. I think the best articulation of that point of view was put by the US jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes when he said, "The right to swing my arm in the air ends at the tip of another man's nose".
This debate raises the issue - indeed, I think it has as its central theme - of whether there is sufficient evidence of a wider, negative impact on society from allowing members of the society the right to view videos in their own homes. I think there is very clear evidence of that wider impact.
It may be said that an Englishman's home is his castle, but he is not an island. Let me give the evidence of that point of view. First of all, in many cases adults share their homes with children. There is very clear evidence that the emotional and psychological development of many children is damaged by their viewing of inappropriate material, such as that which we are debating tonight. How old do members imagine a child needs to be before he can work a video machine? In this day and age, he does not need to be very old at all.
Mr Duby: How old does he have to be to take the cork out of a scotch bottle?
MR HUMPHRIES: We should not readily put alcohol in the way of children either, Mr Duby.
Mr Duby: Exactly.
MR HUMPHRIES: But a child will not have any permanent damage from drinking a glass of alcohol. He might well sustain permanent damage by seeing an X-rated video. The South Australian Council for Children's Film and Television conducted a study which found that many young people under the age of 18 are gaining access to explicit material in the form of R-rated and X-rated videos. The study went on to show that many of these children suffered recurring disturbances as a result.
There is other evidence of that point of view. I do not propose to parade it in the debate tonight because I think it accords with anybody's simple understanding of human behaviour. You do not need to be a sociologist or a psychologist or a child psychologist to realise that. Seeing material of that kind at an early age is a shock for young people and young minds. It also presents the possibility of a permanent distortion of their view of
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