Free Speech Archives

Culture & Media

De Jure and De Facto Censorship: Why We Need to Be Concerned About Both

The last few weeks have seen dustups over the decision by the foundation overseeing Dr. Seuss’s works (i.e. Dr. Seuss Enterprises) to cease publication of six books deemed problematic, as…

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10 min

Defending the Key Liberal Value: Andrew Doyle’s “Free Speech and Why It Matters”

I did not expect to enjoy Andrew Doyle’s Free Speech and Why it Matters. I like Andrew himself very much and our values closely align. However, I seem to be…

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4 min

Politics

Biting One’s Tongue: The Effects of Self-Censorship in Academe

Pressure to conform to orthodoxy in America’s classrooms is growing. When teachers and educational institutions assert, openly or implicitly, that there is an expected view to take on open questions,…

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5 min

Why the British Left Should Champion Free Speech

Frustratingly, standing up for free speech has come to be associated with the political right in recent years: the assumption being that the censorious practices of cancel culture and no-platforming…

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7 min

Words Don’t Hurt, Ideas Do.

I am often told that, as a writer, I should recognize the power of words. As a crafter of poetry and prose, they tell me, surely I must understand the…

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8 min

Politics

The Soft Mob: Intolerance and the New Definition of “Harm”

In the festival of non-sequiturs that was the reaction to the Harper’s letter, two equally specious rebuttals rose to the fore: the first, that freedom of expression has become a…

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5 min

Politics

Hobbes, Locke and Mill: In Defence of Tolerance

The traditional liberal call that we should extend tolerance to our opponents has been replaced by a demand for recognition and acceptance that is paradoxically intolerant towards those who do…

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8 min

Politics

What Yoram Hazony Gets Wrong About Cancel Culture

The open letter in Harper’s Magazine on the dangers of ideological conformity and the suppression of speech, signed by more than 150 leading writers and intellectuals, has been explosively controversial.…

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10 min

Politics

Self-Cancel Culture and the Threat of Moderate Wokeness

Liberalism’s defenders usually describe illiberalism as comprised of two distinct threats: the authoritarian right and the culturally totalitarian left. However, this framing misrepresents the situation. The dangers posed by the…

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8 min

Culture & Media

The Problem with the Concept of Cancel Culture

The phrase cancel culture has been all over the internet over the past few weeks. The publication of the Harper’s letter defending free speech and a number of high profile…

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6 min

Psychology

A Therapist’s Plea for Freedom of Speech

To suppress free speech is a double wrong. It violates the rights of the hearer as well as those of the speaker.—Frederick Douglass. The single best predictor of a positive…

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6 min

Culture & Media

The Historian Who Came in from the Chill

I am in the sunset of life, and I feel it to be my special mission to tell people what they are not prepared to hear.—Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Elizabeth Cady…

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6 min

Are Calls for Open Debate Too Little Too Late?

In Harper’s Magazine this past week over 150 prominent intellectuals and bestselling authors, such as Malcolm Gladwell, J. K. Rowling, Margaret Atwood, Noam Chomsky and others signed a letter that…

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3 min

Politics

Open Letters in the Age of the Cultural Commissar

This week, Harper’s magazine published “A Letter on Justice and Open Debate.” The letter contains a reaffirmation of liberal values: a commitment to open debate, a refusal to ostracize others…

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7 min

Generalisations, Complicity and Jeff Goldblum

Image by Gage Skidmore Yesterday, Jeff Goldblum sparked controversy by asking Jackie Cox, a hijab-wearing contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race, whether there was something about Islam that was anti-woman and…

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Free Speech

De Jure and De Facto Censorship: Why We Need to Be Concerned About Both

Defending the Key Liberal Value: Andrew Doyle’s “Free Speech and Why It Matters”

Biting One’s Tongue: The Effects of Self-Censorship in Academe

Why the British Left Should Champion Free Speech

Words Don’t Hurt, Ideas Do.

The Soft Mob: Intolerance and the New Definition of “Harm”

Hobbes, Locke and Mill: In Defence of Tolerance

What Yoram Hazony Gets Wrong About Cancel Culture

Self-Cancel Culture and the Threat of Moderate Wokeness

The Problem with the Concept of Cancel Culture

A Therapist’s Plea for Freedom of Speech

The Historian Who Came in from the Chill

Are Calls for Open Debate Too Little Too Late?

Open Letters in the Age of the Cultural Commissar

Generalisations, Complicity and Jeff Goldblum

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