Ask anyone and they will say without hesitation that they believe in the importance of freedom of speech. Press anyone and they will add a ‘but’… but not for Fascists, racists, homophobes, hate preachers, Islamic extremists… the list goes on and on. Few will argue in a principled way for ‘Free Speech: No Ifs, No Buts!’
Whatever happened to freedom of speech?
Free speech was once seen as a foundational value and one not to be limited even if it caused great offence. Offending the powerful and the privileged was unavoidable if you sought to challenge the status quo and bring about social change and, other than the establishment, no one cared.
Today those who once sought radical social change, the political left, trade unions, feminists, gays and environmentalists are seeking to censor, ban and ‘No Platform’ those speakers whose views they disagree with. Minority groups now ask the state and other institutions to censor views they find offensive and hurtful.
A new culture of sensitivity or conformism?
A culture of inoffensiveness in order to protect the vulnerable seems to be dominant in the first decades of the 21st century. Society may simply have become more caring, sensitive and inclusive. It may simply be more willing to tolerate restrictions on some speech for the greater social good because that is what it takes to live peacefully in a modern multicultural society.
An alternative perspective would be that the dominant ideas today are taken from what were once radical ideas and conforming to them is now enforced by legal means, with the support of former radicals. That is to say free thinking is no longer allowed in the public sphere, not even for the media, academics, comedians and other artists.
