The verb proscribe means to prohibit and proscription is the corresponding noun. Therefore, a proscription is any provision or rule by which something is prohibited. On the other hand, an outlaw is the person who has been expelled from his homeland and, therefore, is prohibited from residing there.
The main idea of the concept
Certain acts, political movements or ideas can be considered by the state as dangerous. When this happens, the proscription is used to imply that something is not authorized for some reason.
Thus, nuclear weapons, criminal associations or some political groups are examples of things prohibited by law.
The ban in politics
In the political sphere, there is a ban when a government decides to silence the opposition and labels it as "enemy of the people", "subversive current" or other similar qualifications. In this sense, some governments have promoted laws to counteract the diffusion of the ideas and symbols of a particular political movement.
This phenomenon has occurred at various times in history:
1) in Argentina in relation to the anti-Peronist laws that prevented the legality of this movement,
2) in relation to the communist parties in some countries of the world,
3) in Roman civilization to politically eliminate some influential families,
4) in the "witch hunt" in the United States in the 1950s against any suspected of communism,
5) in anti-Semitic laws that have occurred throughout history or
6) in the ban on rustic property in the Soviet Union.
The list of groups that have been banned at some point in history would be endless: gypsies, Jews, refugees, pirates, terrorists, etc.
In some cases, the ban has a legitimate basis, as is the case when a rule is issued to prevent criminal gangs from carrying out their activities. In most cases, proscription is the legal strategy to justify the persecution of a group.
There is no specific mechanism to establish a political ban, as it can occur through a purge, persecution or a smear campaign against a group. In any case, the person or group victim of this type of measures officially becomes undesirable.
Photos: Fotolia - aijiro / Jonathan Stutz
