What Is Free Speech For?

Free speech is the subject of numerous conflicts, but what are its limits and who decides them? How can so many people simultaneously claim to be silenced and yet loudly clamour for scarce attention?

As the media pushes deeper into our lives, communication seems limitless: free speech transforms what is at stake in specific situations, on tech platforms and political protests, in university seminars and media debate.

What is Free Speech For? examines the gap between abstract discussions of free speech, and communication in democracies characterised by abundant speech but very little listening. It helps us understand this key concept important to human flourishing and the reality of how it is used and abused in contemporary societies.