This book explores controversies surrounding free speech and open inquiry (FSOI) in various regions of the Anglophone world. The authors argue that the past decade has seen a noticeable erosion of FSOI across the globe, aided and abetted by university clerisies and state apparatuses. These groups’ policing of language and pandering to cancel culture, the authors argue, have narrowed the Overton window to the point of reinvigorating the push for blasphemy law within liberal democracies themselves and impeding certain avenues scientific research. While most books on the subject discuss the American constitutional context of the First Amendment, this book considers free speech in the wider context of other Anglo countries. It also includes scholars from a variety of disciplines whose approaches will not only be ideologically distinct, but demonstrate a diversity of disciplinary approaches and concerns.
Author(s): Luke C. Sheahan
Series: Palgrave Studies in Classical Liberalism
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 332
City: Cham
Foreword: The Free Speech Slow Motion Train Wreck
Acknowledgements
Contents
List of Contributors
List of Figures
1 Introduction
Importance of Free Speech and Open Inquiry
Argument from Truth
Argument from Democracy
Argument from the Individual
Argument from Community
Argument from Change and Stability
Organization of the Volume
Bibliography
Part I Constitutional Foundations and Institutional Protections
2 The Relationship Between Expressive Rights and Equality
Expressive Rights as a Weapon to Advance Partisan Objectives
The Historical Connection Between Expressive Rights and Equality
The Deeper Connection Between Expressive Rights and Equality
Progressive Censorship is Wrong-Headed
Conclusion
Sources
3 Free Speech and Open Enquiry in the UK
The Value of Free Speech
“Nothing to see here”
The Law on Free Speech in the UK
Free Expression in Universities
Freedom of Enquiry in UK Universities
Hate Crime and “non-crime hate incidents”
Conclusion
References
4 Free Speech in Australia: Protecting Speech Without Explicit Free Speech Rights
The Legal Landscape
The Erosion of Free Speech in Australia
The Call for Expansive Free Speech Rights in Public Discourse
Theoretical Justifications for Free Speech
References
5 Free Speech and Open Inquiry in Canada
Three Enumerated Grounds
Regulated Speech
Political Speech
Public Protest
Academic Freedom
Conclusion
Bibliography
6 Free Speech in the Shadow of a Party-State: Hong Kong and Its Public Service Broadcaster
National Security and Freedoms in Hong Kong
“One Country, Two Systems” and National Security
Hong Kong: Living in the Shadow of a Party-State
RTHK: From Government Mouthpiece to Professional Journalism
Editorial Integrity Without Guarantee
Spelling Out the Red Lines
Free Speech’s Prospects in HKSAR?
Cited References
Part II Contemporary Issues
7 Diseasing Speech in Britain
The Diseasing of Free Speech and the Targeting of Controversy
Therapeutic Censorship
The Therapeutic Imperative
Infantilization of Public Life
8 Degradation and Revolution: A Taxonomy of Cancel Culture
Cancel Culture Defined
Canceling as Degradation Ceremony
The Degradation of Molly Rush
When Canceling Becomes a Community
Free Speech Culture as the Inversion of Cancel Culture
In Defense of Cancel Culture: Some Objections and Answers
Conclusion: Canceling and Speaking Your Mind
Bibliography
9 Legal Protections for Employee Speech: Narrower if at All
Introduction
The Nature of the Concern
The Challenge of Effective Legislative Change
Public Employees
Local Statutes and Private Employment
For-Cause Provisions
Should We Abandon These Protections?
Narrow, Not Broad
Conclusion
References
10 Everyday Censorship: What the Data Tell Us About the Threat to Free Speech on Campus
Two Concepts of Authoritarianism
Hard Authoritarianism
Academic Opinion: Between Free Speech and Social Justice
From Hard to Soft Authoritarianism
Chilling Effects
Eliminating Diversity: Producing a Political Monoculture
Policy Responses
References
11 Why Freedom of Expression Should Reign Supreme in University Life
Wide Freedom of Expression and the Functions of the University
The Influence of the Social and Political Climate
The Ways in Which Expression and Inquiry Are Suppressed
Why Inquiry Goes Best Under Wide Freedom of Expression
How Wide Freedom of Expression Can Harm Inquiry
Intellectual and Moral Autonomy
12 The Excesses of Our Successes: Challenges to Free Speech and Open Inquiry on American Campuses
The Historically Revolting Behavior of College Students
The Roots of Our Present Distress
The Toll on Individual Psyches
The Excesses of Our Successes
What Can We Do?
References
Index
