>> That's far different than an anonymous committee quietly revising past works to conform to the current political line. > Except it's never a faceless ... c

>> That's far different than an anonymous committee quietly revising past works to conform to the current political line. > Except it's never a faceless ... committee in practice. > It's one of two things: > The copyright holders are publishing new editions edited to modern sensibilities to maximize their profits by selling to a new audience. Except that's exactly a "faceless ... committee in practice" (I elided out your injection of "authoritarian," because it missed the point). Then the marketplaces ban the resale of old editions: https://www.newsweek.com/ebay-removes-discontinued-dr-seuss-books-1573824 https://www.newsweek.com/ebay-removes-discontinued-dr-seuss-.... And due to copyright, they have the power to effectively suppress older editions. There will be no easy way to get your hands on one other than figuring out when the changes was made (which likely wasn't publicized), then tracking down a tattered old copy on ebay. > The works are in the public domain, in which case anyone can edit up a new edition however they like, for fun or profit. That's not as concerning, because if the original version is public domain, it will remain easily available and bowdlerized versions are unlikely to be able to compete.