Published on August 20, 2024 4:34 PM GMT
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What is freedom of speech?
People often confuse the principle of free speech with a specific law intended to protect free speech, such as the first amendment of the US constitution. Freedom of speech is not a specific law or set of laws. Freedom of speech is the principle that coercion should not be used to suppress ideas.
What is freedom of speech for?
The primary function of free speech is to enable social rationality. Social rationality means thinking together. Discussion and debate are ways of thinking together. They are ways of solving problems and making decisions together. Freedom of speech creates a space in which people can freely exchange ideas, and thus think together.
Freedom of speech is necessary for social rationality, because otherwise alternatives cannot be presented for consideration. Without freedom of speech, only popular or official opinions can be safely expressed. Under those conditions, the social belief system is fixed. Errors cannot be corrected, and new ideas cannot be explored. Thought requires the freedom to consider alternatives. It requires an open mind. A society that does not permit free speech has a closed mind. It cannot think. Freedom of speech protects society from becoming trapped in a vicious cycle of conformity.
There is a more general principle behind freedom of speech, which could be called “the principle of reason”, or simply “rationality”. It is the principle that ideas should be chosen based on their merits, not imposed by coercion or deception. Freedom of speech protects ideas from being suppressed by coercion. That is the primary function of free speech. It creates a space in which ideas can be exchanged freely and selected based on their merits, rather than imposed by authority, whether it is the authority of the state or the authority of the mob.
Freedom of speech has a secondary function. It protects individuals from the arbitrary exercise of social power. The power to police speech is very easy to abuse, because speech is a complex thing. It depends on context and interpretation. It has insincere forms, such as jokes, satire and trolling. Freedom of speech protects individuals from being punished for a joke or an off-hand remark. It also protects minorities from a tyranny of the majority. It protects people with minority views from persecution by the state or the mob.
Freedom of speech requires more than just freedom from state censorship. It requires a culture that respects individual freedom of belief, a culture that values rationality above conformity.
Freedom of speech can be limited by the state, corporations, the mob or individuals acting alone. Any use of coercion to suppress ideas is an attack on freedom of speech.
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