Freedom of Speech

Harvard FAS

Freedom of speech is often treated as a human right, a constitutional right, or the right of citizens in a liberal democracy. Of late, the issue of “free speech” seems particularly polarizing or “political,” with those on the right and on the left taking turns promoting and censoring it. But “free speech” has always been a contentious political issue, as well as a theoretically thorny one. When considering freedom of speech, a variety of questions arise: Who has the moral and/or political…