How is it banned if it's still being sold? (I don't mean to come off as snarky, this is a genuine question, as I found several copies available right now on Amazon).
It means that it has been banned in specific places. Like it might be banned in school libraries or within certain institutions or organizations. The US government hasn’t imposed a ban.
Being banned in a limited capacity still limits access. If, for example, your primary access to books is through your school library, and that library has banned the book, you will have difficulty getting a copy to read.
No, it’s not totally banned, the book is still legal, but access is truncated. And that limit, that imposition on freedom of those ideas, is meaningful.
So a catholic elementary school decides it doesn't want a Karma Sutra in it's library, and that's the same as being banned in the US? And do keep in mind, we're not talking about "truncated access", but actual bans. I see you trying to move the goalposts.
Well, there’s a difference between declining to stock a book—I’m sure many school libraries don’t include the Kama sutra—and banning it.
But sure, if it only counts as banned if you are banned from having it, then call it what you like.
No problem. I felt it needed to be added, because Orwell was actually pretty staunchly Socialist in his beliefs regarding society, just not precisely Marxist, and certainly not what one would call Communist.
No, it’s not totally banned, the book is still legal, but access is truncated. And that limit, that imposition on freedom of those ideas, is meaningful.
But sure, if it only counts as banned if you are banned from having it, then call it what you like.