I am open to (although skeptical of) the argument that Google was right to accede to the Chinese regime’s demands for censorship. And I have long admired James DeLong’s commentary. So I read his article twice to make sure he was saying what I thought he was saying.

On second read, he is indeed saying that it is right for the regime to impose political censorship. And that it is right because the alternative may be . . . to become like America and Europe, which regulate industry too much. DeLong concludes that “it is very important to the peace of the world that in 50 years school children in India and China are taught that the West did everything it could to help the economic development of these nations.” It might be important for Chinese kids 50 years from now to be taught that we helped to make them free, too.