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Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media
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About This Book
"The best history of free speech ever written and the best defense of free speech ever made." — P.J. O'Rourke Hailed as the "first freedom," free speech is the bedrock of democracy. But it is a challenging principle, subject to erosion in times of upheaval. Today, in democracies and authoritarian states around the world, it is on the retreat. In Free Speech , Jacob Mchangama traces the riveting legal, political, and cultural history of this idea. Through captivating stories of free speech's many defenders—from the ancient Athenian orator Demosthenes and the ninth-century freethinker al-Rāzī, to the anti-lynching crusader Ida B. Wells and modern-day digital activists—Mchangama reveals how the free exchange of ideas underlies all intellectual achievement and has enabled the advancement of both freedom and equality worldwide. Yet the desire to restrict speech, too, is a constant, and he explores how even its champions can be led down this path when the rise of new and contrarian voices challenge power and privilege of all stripes. Meticulously researched and deeply humane, Free Speech demonstrates how much we have gained from this principle—and how much we stand to lose without it.
Reviews
"It is an admonition we must never forget."
"A provocative exploration of a transformative political right."
"[A] recurring theme in this expansive, atypical history is 'Milton's Curse,' a disease that afflicts defenders of free speech when they are exposed to power ..."
"Using numerous anecdotes, the author makes this well-researched narrative both informative and entertaining as he recounts accusations of heresy and restrictions on the freedom of religion during the Inquisition and Martin Luther's invention of the printing press, which challenged conventional ideas of disseminating news ..."
"The author effectively demonstrates how much we have gained by the spread of free speech as well as what we stand to lose if we allow its continued erosion ..."
"Readers on both the right and the left seeking insights into modern-day debates over free speech will welcome this evenhanded and wide-ranging history."
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