But in America's free-ranging debates, where the spectrum of views on Islam is probably wider than in any Muslim land or even in Europe, there are also many voices on the other side.

ECONOMIST: Islam and democracy

After a further 30 to 40 years, or somewhere thereabouts, cash will be eliminated from our economy after the nation has had a plethora of free and wide-ranging debates about this issue.

FORBES: The Perils Of A Cashless Society

We can still check every comment before publication if we wish, but in the spirit of this new approach I expect more debates to be free-flowing, and only moderated if an inappropriate comment is posted.

BBC: NEWS | UK | Magazine | From the editor's desktop

While Mr Bush has been a clear free trader, Mr Gore, for all his debates with Ross Perot, has been increasingly unreliable on the issue.

ECONOMIST: Crunch time

Political debates tend to pit partisans of the two syndromes against each other: government activism vs. the free market.

FORBES: Jane Jacobs and the Problem of Monstrous Hybrids