By Joel J. Miller

So, here’s the question: Should we be free to express all those objectionable ideas? A few recent books wrestle with aspects of the question.

For some of us the answer to that question is an obvious yes. But—if you’re keeping tabs—that’s just another idea that some find objectionable. In fact, it’s safe to say that in most times and climes advocates for free expression have found themselves in the radical minority. How many countries have speech protections and press freedoms as vigorous as the U.S. First Amendment? It ain’t many.

And yet, as Jacob Mchangama and Jeff Kosseff argue in their book The Future of Free Speech: Reversing the Global Decline of Democracy’s Most Essential Freedom, things don’t look as rosy as they once did, even in the U.S. In his prior book Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media (see our discussion about the book here), Mchangama tells the story of free expression, going back to the beginning of Western civilization. The Future of Free Speech (also the name of the think tank Mchangama founded at Vanderbilt University) is more concerned with the recent past and where current trends are pointing.

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Part three explores the ways in which individuals and institutions can combat speech restrictions: transparency, decentralization, and more speech. “Freedom of expression and access to information remain core strategic advantages for democracies,” write Mchangama and Kosseff. “To preserve this advantage, democracies must resist the siren song of censorship and instead empower their citizens to harness the creative potential of digital tools. From counterspeakers to developers of digital libraries and modern-day samizdat platforms, the growing number of people and civil society organizations using the power of speech and information demonstrates that fostering a resilient culture of free speech is possible in the digital age.”

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Executive Director  at   
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Jacob Mchangama is the Founder and Executive Director of The Future of Free Speech. He is also a research professor at Vanderbilt University and a Senior Fellow at The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).

Non-Resident Senior Fellow 
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Jeff Kosseff is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow for The Future of Free Speech. He writes about online speech, the First Amendment, and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.