Three Free Speech Myths

Steve Simpson’s guide on how not to defend free speech.

I have spent the better part of the last two decades defending the freedom of speech. First as a constitutional lawyer, and now as a speaker and writer at the Ayn Rand Institute. I’m convinced that freedom of speech is under attack in America, but the primary threat is not “snowflakes” or even violent students on campus.

The primary threat to free speech is too few people understanding the right, including many who want to defend it. Here are three flawed arguments for free speech I often encounter.

1. Free speech is a “social” value

The most common argument for protecting the right to free speech is that it’s necessary for self-government. The argument: if people aren’t informed, they cannot make the decisions necessary to maintain a free society.

It’s true that in order to govern ourselves we must be informed. But the argument based on self-government has a fatal flaw. If free speech is only a means to self-government, then shouldn’t we censor the expression of threatening ideas? That’s the argument for clamping down on social media.