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36 sats \ 2 replies \ @SimpleStacker 20 Mar \ parent \ on: 'Free Speech' Is Incompatible With A 'Multicultural' Society Politics_And_Law
Yeah, and I wonder why people seem to care less about free speech now... I wonder if it's because they are actually exposed to more speech now than ever, especially speech they don't like.
Define your idea of "free speech."
In it's idealized form "free speech" easy to defend but in reality no society has ever been able to protect it absolutely. There is a reason for that. Even in the U.S. there are practical limitations that protect people from things like threats and defamation. Are those limitations within bounds? It seems overly simplistic to me to defend "free speech" in such absolute terms when reality is just not that clean.
It's similar in some ways to the idea of a "free market". Has there ever been such a thing? Maybe something to strive for, yes, but in reality even a market benefits from some minimal regulation so there's a level playing field for everyone involved. An absolute "free market" can absolutely go wrong. Granted, regulation can definitely go too far and I don't claim to know where the lines should be. But to just fall on the side of "free" ideology and everyone else is wrong is no way to have a thoughtful debate.
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Of course, and I'm not saying I have any sort of "absolutist" positions on this.
But I am saying that I disagree with this Australian politician who seems to imply that the marginal free speech restriction is justifiable on the grounds of protecting multicultural harmony.
I think the narrative that's out there about needing to restrict speech to guard against disinformation and protect cultural sensibilities is wrong.
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