In an essay for the next issue of Daedalus, legal scholar Robert Post, SSRN, October 20, 2020 argues that the public forum, the free-flowing marketplace of ideas, is no sure remedy for the current state of speech in the U.S. “Under the spell of a free speech principle,” writes Post, “many believe that an illness of contemporary public debate can be cured by more speech. But this recommendation confuses symptoms with causes. Our public discourse has become rancid because our politics has become diseased. Our public discourse cannot be healed until our politics is restored. More speech may help this problem, but it also may exacerbate it. We cannot reach a clear diagnosis until we rid ourselves of the confusing fiction of a free speech principle and instead focus sharply on what we want the social practice of public discourse to achieve.”
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