More than ever, censorship and inspection policies by authoritarian governments have taken complex forms, to the point that in societies under the rule of tyranny and cultural suffocation, censorship and the policy of elimination have become a guillotine. In Iran, the issue of censorship, both in the Shah regime and in the Islamic Republic, has encompassed various dimensions, and its consequences have been nothing but the suppression of voices and thoughts.

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Nowadays, the policies of the Islamic Republic are clearly based on the ideological perspective in the cultural sphere. In this ideological perspective, the concept of culture does not hold a significant position in the thinking of government officials, and what is prioritized is the expansion of the influence of cultural operatives in the direction of shaping culture and dividing and discriminating society, in relation to the roles of “guiding” and “being guided.”
“I am sorry, I do not understand.”

(2) A society based on the chain of relationships of the night-colored youth and the ancient structures of tyranny, which are deprived of moderation and critical thinking, naturally cannot tolerate progressive ideas and has a strong tendency to eliminate them. (3)

The most important step towards solving the existing crises is first identifying them. What can be called a “cultural crisis” has created a severely dire situation in Iran. Government policies of elimination and censorship, lack of civil and democratic institutions, suppression of poets and writers, closure and confiscation of various media outlets all indicate a worsening cultural crisis in Iran; a crisis that, in conjunction with political, social, and economic crises, has taken on extensive dimensions in society.

The most fundamental approach towards resolving current crises requires a significant transformation in existing social relationships in order to provide sustainable and effective solutions. The main prerequisite for these transformations is the active presence of democratic institutions in society; organized institutions that can establish connections with the masses and facilitate a smooth path for cultural development.

In the field of cultural transformation, the most important requirement is the realization of unconditional freedom of expression, so that progressive ideas and thoughts can become aware of the presence of others. (4) It is obvious that with the prevailing attitudes in Iran, such a transformation seems unlikely, and the most important policies that the government has been imposing in recent decades are in irreconcilable conflict with the demands of a democratic society. On the other hand, systematic suppression of the ruling system only leads to suffocation.

With such a situation, it is not possible to hope for improvement within the framework of an oppressive system. In fact, such thinking will have very damaging consequences. It is enough to take a brief look and realize how insignificant the share of culture is in the government’s budget. This issue alone shows that the government officials have no desire for cultural transformation, and the goal and purpose of development is purely and mainly profit-oriented; while cultural development means the flourishing of ideas and progressive attitudes at a societal level, and only with this mindset can we take steps towards cultural development.

Cultural development is possible in a society where the majority of the population is economically prosperous and living at a high standard of living. In societies like Iran, where economic crises have led to increased poverty and class divisions, cultural development is either not possible or comes with many difficulties. In our current situation, we are witnessing terrifying inflation, and book prices have skyrocketed. The presence of private sector mafia in the publishing industry has led to a situation where the price of a book can reach half a million tomans or even one million tomans.

Another point is that nowadays, many people in Iran have two or three jobs to make a living. This unstable situation and the lack of free time and the lack of opportunity for cultural studies have made the crises more widespread and their solutions more complicated. (5)

The flourishing of society in the direction of cultural development requires a fundamental performance; a performance that is based on the presence of independent democratic institutions. In this field, it is necessary to reject and negate extremist government views and extremist liberalism, as both of their performances will have detrimental consequences in the cultural realm and the majority of the people in society will be the biggest victims. In the past three decades, with the dominance of neoliberal policies, the modern global order, which many hardworking individuals have suffered from its terrible consequences, has been pushed towards a market-oriented approach and the acceptance of complete privatization, which ultimately leads to the destruction of the greatest achievements of humanity. However, it should be noted that this does not mean we should accept extremist government views; an approach that has no less destructive power than neoliberalism. (6)

The fundamental solution must be observed within the society. The most important issue in the field of cultural development is “popularization of culture”.

What is “cultural globalization”?

In societies based on capitalist production, due to existing class divisions, wealth is in the hands of owners, while poverty and inequality are in the hands of the lower classes of society. In such a structure, there is discrimination and culture is also in the hands of the owners, or in other words, culture becomes a commodity that the upper class benefits from and the lower class is deprived of. The nationalization of culture is a revolt against such a structure. In fact, we are obligated to make culture accessible to all members of society and not allow a market-oriented and profit-driven perspective to take over and reduce it to a mere commodity. The nationalization of culture means achieving and having access to facilities that everyone can benefit from and take steps towards the flourishing and growth of ideas. The effort to develop culture is not possible under such a system, as the phenomenon of crisis is inherent in its nature.

At the end, it must be reminded that cultural development is not possible without the elimination of censorship. In fact, censorship is used by governments as a means of suppressing thoughts; only authoritarian regimes are hostile towards freedom of expression because they know well that the true nature of freedom of expression is based on truth and exposes all injustices and discrimination, revealing the violated rights of humanity and leading to the spread of awareness among the masses. It is clear that censorship and inspection are policies pursued by governments that do not support freedom of expression. The institution of censorship is a reactionary institution and cultural development cannot be made smooth with reactionary institutions. Karl Marx aptly states: censorship is not a sharp knife that trims the unruly, it is a blunt tool of self-censorship. (7)

Cultural development takes place when the issue of censorship is no longer raised and the condition for achieving unlimited freedom of expression and cultural development requires the elimination of any form of censorship.

Notes:

1- Sarkoohi, Faraj, when lying, is a history of resignation – 1, news website, 18 Dey month 1392.

2- The sound of the singing of the memoir of Mohammad Mokhtari and Mohammad Jafar Pouyandeh, Islamshahr: Fasle Sabz Publications (first edition), 1378.

3- Mokhtari, Mohammad, Tamarin-e Modara, Mashhad: Botimar Publications (2nd edition), 1395.

4- Mokhtari, Mohammad, Human in Contemporary Poetry, Tehran: Farhang Nashr-e No Publication (2nd edition), 1400.

5- Same (2).

6- Same (2).

7- Marx, Karl, Censorship and Freedom of the Press, Tehran: Ekhteran Publications (2nd edition), 1398.