Last night, former SINner Russell Blackford had a poke at Western society for failing to coalesce\u00a0around a unifying concept of free speech.<\/p>\n
https:\/\/twitter.com\/Metamagician\/status\/711352198483955712<\/p>\n
Part of the problem here may be\u00a0that there are at least two distinct and divergent notions of what free speech is and\u00a0why it is to be valued, one much broader than the other. The\u00a0view we take will have\u00a0ripple effects throughout all discussions about\u00a0speech and how we treat\u00a0those with whom we disagree.<\/p>\n
The narrow conception of free speech is popular among social justice activists; in their view only the government<\/em> is capable of interference with free speech.<\/p>\n For a\u00a0timely\u00a0example,\u00a0consider\u00a0this conceptualization of free speech\u00a0from one of the newly onboarded authors<\/a>\u00a0at Freethought Blogs [emphasis mine]:<\/p>\n …free speech means the government can\u2019t prosecute you for things that you say<\/em>. It does not mean people can\u2019t be pissed off about something you say, or that a corporation can\u2019t refuse to do business with you because you\u2019re prone to saying bigoted shit. It just means the government can\u2019t censor you or punish you.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n https:\/\/twitter.com\/FeedAtheism\/status\/710912449873108993<\/p>\n Along the same lines, we have this concise definition from Aoife O’Riordan<\/a> of The Orbit:<\/p>\n Freedom of speech is this: you won\u2019t be arrested for expressing your opinion. That\u2019s all.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The market has spoken, @TheFemaleGreer<\/a>. We don't want what you're selling.https:\/\/t.co\/Nm1LKaVM9m<\/a> #transphobia<\/a> #terf<\/a> #feminism<\/a><\/p>\n — Aoife Is More Than 1 Metre From You (@flyingteacosy) October 30, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n