Censorship and free speech
This is the overview of all articles about censorship and free speech
This series is about toleration for free speech. No one needs permission to speak out. That would be difficult: all you have to do is open your mouth. However, there are limits to what you are allowed to say or write. Governments can punish you for what you have said, or limit your audience. There can be all sorts of good reasons for this, but also bad ones. In this series we will explore what those good reasons can be for silencing people, and what good arguments there are for imposing as few restrictions as possible on free speech.
Yes, we are being censored
This is the first in a new series: censorship and free speech. We kick things off with a hot topic: modern-day censorship in Europe.
Censorship in Europe before the French Revolution
In the last newsletter, we explored how censorship remains a knee-jerk reaction in Europe even today. Deep down, we all know that people should be free to say and hear whatever they want. But let’s face it: we are weak-willed creatures, and so are our rulers. Fear of extremism, hate speech, social upheaval, and expecting decency especially from others k…
A handy guide for rulers who can’t censor anymore
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:
Why ban hate speech?
People can say truly awful things. Words can hurt; sometimes it feels like being smacked in the face, minus the bruises. When it happens again and again, the damage cuts deeper: people can feel isolated, humiliated, and fearful that hateful words might turn into hateful deeds. This article explores where to draw the line. What should we think of argumen…
