An Oxford professor and former foreign correspondent has published a bold and provocative defense of free speech, “Free Speech: Ten Principles for a Connected World.” Timothy Garton Ash opposes hate speech laws and argues for more strident action in defying threats. (The New York Times, May 22, 2016, by Tom Rachman)
In a review of the book, Edmund Fawcett, The New York Times, May 22, 2016, praises Ash for making it clear what exactly what it entails to defend free speech effectively. For one, it means tolerating dispicable speech. “Defending free speech, alas, takes more than standing up for science, sound argument and brave eloquence. It takes standing up as well for the right to say things that are false, hateful, mindless, base, vulgar, stupid or reckless. It is easy to defend what we admire and believe in. To defend free speech, you have to allow for bad speech. Free speech gave us Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream.” It also gave us Donald Trump. It would be nice to have one without the other. But that is not what free speech promises. Free speech is complicated and comes at a high price,” writes Fawcett.
Ash writes that globalization spear-headed by the Internet is a boon for free speech but at the same times generates conflict. “[Ash] argues forcefully that despite, or perhaps because of, these trends there is an increasing need for freer speech, and that ‘unnoticed by many of us, a great power struggle over the shape, terms and limits of global freedom of expression is raging around us, inside that box in your pocket and perhaps even inside our heads.’ The book is organised around ten sensible ‘principles’, among them that everyone should be able to express themselves; that they should not threaten violence; that there should be a free press and that people should be able to protect their privacy.” (The Economist, May 21, 2016)