| The principle of the people's right to know, as a necessary corollary to the idea of popular sovereignty, is an important element of democratic theory and practice in the United States. Historically, however, this principle has often been secondary to the value of national security because arguments against various secrecy justifications for withholding information from the public inevitably confront theoretical and practical challenges.; This study examines various theoretical and practical difficulties in implementing the principle, which are reflected in sociopolitical theories of the right to know, the lack of scholarly attention to the original usage of the term and the Right to Know Movement during the Cold War, Supreme Court Freedom of Information Act cases, the unbridled use of secrecy agreements preventing millions from expressing opinions without approval, and mainstream First Amendment theories that rely on the classical-liberal paradigm (interpreting the freedom of speech and the press mainly in terms of freedom from prior restraint and post-publication prosecution) while being unreceptive and even antagonistic toward neo-liberal arguments (advocating freedom for expanding democratic principles).; Based on a historically grounded reinterpretation of the concept, this study argues that the realization of the theoretical and practical complexities and difficulties must be the first step for re-constructing a discourse that empowers the people. Since the term "the right to know" was originally used in the eighteenth century to emphasize the financial transparency of public funds and the importance of education in guarding against the abuse of power, it is important to ask whether national interests have been appropriately served by the government's continuous efforts to increase military spending and expand bureaucratic secrecy even after the Cold War.; Although pure democracy and an absolutely free flow of information are difficult to achieve, they are still ideals that are worth pursuing. The seemingly irreconcilable values of the people's right to know and national security secrecy are not mutually exclusive. A historically grounded understanding of the concept will invariably allow the people to assess the performance of public officials and to participate in a democratic system of government. |
