Welcome to Daily Conquest! It’s time to exercise our freedom of speech. Remember to warm up first!
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“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” - Amendment I to the U.S. Constitution
We know the First Amendment protects, among other things, our freedom of speech.1
What many don’t realize is that the First Amendment is not the source of our freedom of speech, which is a natural right more expansive than the bounds of what the First Amendment protects.
Another truth often overlooked is that the societal principle of free speech is more important than, and distinct from, our particular free speech rights protected by the First Amendment.
Likewise, the scope of freedom of speech as a democratic value goes beyond the confines of the First Amendment
These distinctions are important, so let’s dive in!
A natural right to speak
Freedom of speech is a natural right. It’s one of those “endowed by our Creator” unalienable rights that we all have simply by virtue of being human — as we have discussed previously.
We won’t go down the natural law rabbit hole again just now — the key takeaway is that Americans2 had a natural right to freedom of speech before the First Amendment was adopted. The amendment did not create our freedom of speech — our Creator did.3
Which means that — as we noted last time — freedom of speech is one of the rights that governments exist to protect. Unfortunately, it is also one of the rights that governments are most tempted to violate.
The relationship between natural rights and constitutional or legal rights is complicated. But the short version is that constitutional rights that aren’t simply procedural in nature (such as the right of habeas corpus, or the right to a jury trial) tend to be a subset of the corresponding natural rights.
Our natural right to freedom of speech is more expansive than our First Amendment rights. The First Amendment only forbids the government from infringing free speech. But our natural rights apply against violation by any source, government or not.
The First Amendment does not protect you, in normal circumstances, from infringement of your speech by persons or entities outside of government.
So, for example, if Facebook or Twitter or another social media platform censors your posts because the people at that company disapprove of what you say, your First Amendment rights have not been violated.4
But your natural right freedom of speech may have been. Of course, there is no Court of Natural Law you can sue in when that happens. The vindication of our natural rights depends on there being a broad understanding and acceptance of those rights by society as a whole. You can see this in operation when public outrage, not the threat of legal action, shames some company into reversing an egregious violation of free speech principles.5
But what does the natural right to freedom of speech look like? What are — to use a favorite word — the contours of freedom of speech? It’s complicated! Let’s take a look…
Thought and expression
Freedom of speech is really an aspect of freedom of thought. That is, the right to individual autonomy in forming our own thoughts and beliefs and acting on them. One way we act on our thoughts is to express them to others — by speaking, writing, or other means.
Overlapping with freedom of speech is freedom of expression — obviously you can communicate thoughts and ideas in ways other than literal speech, such as through writing or through expressive actions (wearing a ribbon or other token in support of a cause, waving a flag, displaying a political or religious symbol, making a silent protest, participating in a sit-in or march, taking part in a ceremony of some kind, and so on).
You can also perform a dance, play music, or create works of visual art that communicate ideas or serve as a form of self-expression. You can think of speech and expression as twins, or you can view speech as a subset of expression. Either way, both speech and expression of ideas spring from thought.
When someone objects to what you say, often their true objection to what you think or believe, right?
Let your conscience be your guide
Our right to the integrity of our own thoughts — and to the expression of those thoughts — is how we as individuals attain self-fulfillment. Protecting freedom of speech and expression essential for the preservation of human dignity and autonomy.
Closely connected to freedom of thought is freedom of conscience. This is the right to hold and embody one's own beliefs without fear of persecution. This freedom allows individuals to live according to their own values and beliefs without persecution. That includes living by one’s religious faith, spiritual beliefs, or personal philosophy. It enables individuals to make their own decisions about what they believe and how they choose to live their lives.
The social principle of freedom of speech
Thought and conscience are matters of individual right, but the rights of free speech and free expression are also important social values. In other words, we protect these freedoms not merely for the benefit of individual speakers, but to preserve the benefits that freedom of speech brings to society as a whole.
Which makes sense — unless you’re talking to yourself, speech implies communication with others. The free sharing, dissemination, and discussion of ideas enriches the community as a whole. We can see this if we look at some special flavors of free speech:
Freedom of inquiry is the right to seek and acquire knowledge and information without censorship or repression. This right allows individuals to ask questions, conduct research, and explore new ideas and perspectives without fear of reprisal. It is essential for the advancement of science, technology, and all other forms of knowledge, as well as for fostering critical thinking and independent thinking.
Freedom of dissent is the right to express disagreement or opposition to the views of others without fear of retaliation. This freedom allows for the expression of dissenting views and the ability to hold leaders accountable.
While it’s important to be able to dissent from the acts and policies of the government, this freedom is also valuable in other contexts. For example, religious dissenters must be free to critique and dispute matters of dogma, perhaps even breaking away to form a new congregation or sect if so led by their conscience.
In the arts, in science, in business, and in all other areas of human endeavor certain ideas become fixed as orthodoxy, consensus, or conventional wisdom. Human understanding cannot advance if people are unable to challenge those ideas.
Scholars, doctors, engineers, historians, and so forth must be free to question and dissent from the current interpretations or prevailing views in their fields, or else the advancement of human knowledge, innovation, and creativity ceases.6 (Maybe we should wash our hands before surgery? Maybe we could experiment with new uses of perspective or color in painting? Or experiment with new styles of music?)
Scientists must be able to dissent from the consensus, challenge the established theories, and reopen what are said to be settled questions — otherwise scientific knowledge stagnates.7 (Maybe, just maybe, yesterday’s experts were wrong, and the Earth revolves around the Sun, not the other way around! Maybe fresh air, exercise, and Vitamin D can help stave off a virus.8)
All of these freedoms are interconnected and together enable individuals to think independently and to express themselves freely. Such a free exchange of ideas is crucial for the functioning of a healthy and dynamic society, as it allows for a diversity of perspectives, promotes critical thinking, and assists in the discovery of truth.
More speech to come
Next time, we’ll dive a little deeper into the connection between freedom of speech and the search for truth, and then discuss the importance of free speech to democracy.
In the meantime, you can express your opinion of this edition by clicking the heart icon, leaving a comment, and sharing it with a friend.
Until we meet again — Conquer the Day!
When I say “our” I mean Americans. Readers in other countries - welcome! - will have their own legal and constitutional free speech protections or, more likely, lack thereof.
Spoiler alert — we’re circling toward a discussion of the First Amendment, which only applies to the United States. Hence, my discussion of Americans. The natural right of freedom of speech, as with all natural rights, is the birthright of all people in all nations. Whether and how other nations uphold that freedom is beyond the scope of this discussion.
Or if your cosmology doesn’t recognize a Creator, “Nature” did it.
Unless the private company censoring you is acting on behalf of or at the direction of the government. But that’s a whole topic in itself!
In one recent example, PayPal updated its terms of service to give itself the power to fine customers and steal up to $2500 of their money for sharing views or spreading information that PayPal considered “misinformation.” This announced policy was all the more insidious considering PayPal is not a social media platform, but a payments company. Thus, it was purporting to police and punish its customers for speech that likely had no connection to PayPal whatsoever.
This did not go over well.
PayPal Pulls Back, Says It Won’t Fine Customers $2,500 for ‘Misinformation’ after Backlash
PayPal has backtracked on a published policy that would have fined users $2,500 for spreading “misinformation,” claiming the update had gone out “in error.”
PayPal controversy: App backtracks on new policy to fine $2500 for misinformation
Searches for how to “delete PayPal” skyrocketed by nearly 1,400% worldwide after the payment service released a policy update that said users would have to pay up to $2,500 in damages for spreading misinformation — which the company has since called an error.
How Much Will The 'Misinformation Clause' Error Cost PayPal?
PayPal implemented a controversial update to its AUP over the weekend which included a clause that would find users $2,500 for the spread of misinformation. The update immediately sparked backlash from both users and investors, citing concerns that PayPal was overstepping users' freedom of speech, with some even going to the extent of accusing the digital payment platform for outright "censorship"
I still wouldn’t trust PayPal, but the point here is that their actions, while in no way a violation of the First Amendment, did violate a strong societal norm in favor of free speech. The company backed down in the face of the public outcry.
Free speech could survive without the First Amendment. But it cannot survive if society ceases to respect and support free speech as a value. Unfortunately, as we will discuss in future editions of Daily Conquest, there are many enemies of free speech actively working to undermine that societal consensus.
I recommend Olga Grushin’s novel The Dream Life of Sukhanov, which explores the theme of how enforced conformity stifled artistic talent, personal creativity, and human flourishing in the former Soviet Union. Along with being a beautifully written.
One need look back in time no further than 2020 to find far too many examples of the freedom of inquiry and freedom of dissent being violated in scientific, medical, and health matters. And to see the resulting harms of squashing open discussion and debate.
Here are a few threads you can follow:
The Impact of Vitamin D Level on COVID-19 Infection: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (Frontiers in Public Health)