Jonathan Seglow - Free Speech

1 Cover

2 Series Title

3 Title Page Free Speech Matteo Bonotti Jonathan Seglow polity

4 Copyright Page

5 Introduction Notes

6 1 Theories of Free Speech Introduction Free speech and truth Free speech and autonomy Free speech and democracy Interconnections between the three theories Note

7 2 Hate Speech Introduction Understanding hate speech Hate speech and truth Hate speech and autonomy Hate speech and democracy Further arguments for hate speech regulation Alternatives to hate speech regulation Notes

8 3 Holocaust Denial Introduction Holocaust denial: Hate, harm and context Holocaust denial and truth Holocaust denial and autonomy Holocaust denial and democracy Notes

9 4 Offensive Speech Introduction From blasphemy to offence Offensive speech and truth Offensive speech and autonomy Offensive speech and democracy Offensive nuisances, profound offences and Joel Feinberg’s ‘offence principle’ Notes

10 5 Pornography Introduction Conservative and communitarian arguments Pornography and truth Pornography and harm Pornography and autonomy Pornography and democracy Notes

11 6 Contemporary Challenges Introduction No-platforming and free speech Fake news and free speech Online public shaming and free speech Notes

12 Conclusion Notes

13 Bibliography

14 Index

15 End User License Agreement

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Matteo Bonotti

Jonathan Seglow

polity

Copyright © Matteo Bonotti and Jonathan Seglow 2021

The right of Matteo Bonotti and Jonathan Seglow to be identified as Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

First published in 2021 by Polity Press

Polity Press

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Cambridge CB2 1UR, UK

Polity Press

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Medford, MA 02155, USA

All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-2644-4

ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-2645-1 (pb)

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Bonotti, Matteo, author. | Seglow, Jonathan, 1968- author.

Title: Free speech / Matteo Bonotti, Jonathan Seglow.

Description: Cambridge, UK ; Medford, MA : Polity, 2021. | Series: Key concepts in political theory | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: “A compact guide to the major debates about what restrictions, if any, should be placed on free expression”-- Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020048713 (print) | LCCN 2020048714 (ebook) | ISBN 9781509526444 (hardback) | ISBN 9781509526451 (paperback) | ISBN 9781509526482 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Freedom of speech--United States.

Classification: LCC JC591 .B683 2021 (print) | LCC JC591 (ebook) | DDC 323.44/30973--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020048713

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020048714

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The 2016 Brexit referendum in the United Kingdom, Donald Trump’s election as president of the United States and re-election campaign in 2020, the rise of right-wing populism in Europe and further afield, the current wave of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, and the hate speech targeting people of Chinese origin during the COVID-19 pandemic have brought freedom of speech to the forefront of public and academic debate, together with the question of whether hateful expression ought to be regulated. The tension between freedom of speech and offensiveness also continues to elicit controversy, as shown for example by the 2006 Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy and, more recently, by the attacks on Charlie Hebdo ’s offices in Paris in 2015 and 2020. The growing availability of Internet pornography has reignited long-standing debates between liberal and feminist thinkers concerning the permissibility of censorship and the tension between individual freedom and harm to women. Last but not least, recent phenomena such as fake news, trans wars and race culture wars have spurred new controversies regarding whether, when and how online speech should be regulated.

For example, in June 2020 Joanne K. Rowling, the author of Harry Potter , posted the following tweet in response to a headline about ‘people who menstruate’: ‘“People who menstruate”. I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?’. 1Soon Rowling became the target of countless tweets accusing her of transphobia. 2In another example, in September 2020 US President Donald Trump attacked the Black Lives Matter movement and stated that ‘[l]eft-wing mobs have torn down statues of our founders, desecrated our memorials and carried out a campaign of violence and anarchy … Whether it is the mob on the street, or the cancel culture in the boardroom, the goal is the same: to silence dissent, to scare you out of speaking the truth and to bully Americans into abandoning their values.’ 3The contentiousness of the debates that followed these and similar incidents renders the theoretical analysis of freedom of speech, and of its permissible limits, both necessary and urgent.