A handy guide for rulers who can’t censor anymore

Since the French Revolution, censorship hasn’t disappeared; it evolved. Free speech can still be restricted through various measures while maintaining the illusion of freedom.

In the previous article, we explored how 18th-century monarchs wrestled with the uncomfortable idea of scrapping preventive censorship. The younger, more enlightened rulers of the age slowly came to realise a few things:

• Tolerating free speech could actually spark energy and innovation in society.

• It’s a fool’s errand to try and force everyone to think th…