"Denied" used in passive

[ian2]

As persons deprived of memory become disoriented and lost, not knowing where they have been and where they are going, so a nation denied a conception of the past willbe disabled in dealing with its present and its future


Question: The verb "denied" is in passive. What if the sentence is paraphrased as "a nation having no conception of the past"? What is the potential problem, as on the surface, I don't see an important difference?

[Anglika]

There is a conceptual difference between not having something and being denied something. The latter implies a strong negative action.

[ian2]

Originally Posted by Anglika

There is a conceptual difference between not having something and being denied something. The latter implies a strong negative action.

Thanks. It seems the two verbs tell the difference, but in this case, denied by whom?

[BobK]

Originally Posted by ian2

Thanks. It seems the two verbs tell the difference, but in this case, denied by whom?

The answer depends on the context. For example, at the time when Mr Baker was Minister for Education and introduced the National Curriculum (he is long gone from the political scene, but his name lives on in the staff development days, properly called 'inset' days, but known colloquially - particularly among older staff - as 'Baker days'), hostile press reports might have said people in schools were being denied exposure to music (because music became optional). Further changes have been made over the years; the latest and most lamentable being that a modern foreign language becomes optional after the age of 14; but don't get me started...)

b