In Defence of Freedom of Speech

by Chris Berg

Freedom of speech is at the heart of individual liberty and democracy. Yet, in Australia and around the Western world, it is under attack on all from regulations to force ‘balance’ on the press, to new human rights like the right not to be offended. In this important new book, Chris Berg offers a bold reinterpretation of why freedom of speech matters. Only by understanding how the right to free expression and freedom of conscience arose can we understand the magnitude of the threats we now face.The liberty to express our thoughts and opinions is one of the central foundations of Western Civilisation. When governments threaten that freedom of speech, they threaten the foundations of liberty and the democratic system.

Genres: Politics, History, Philosophy, Nonfiction

220 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good. Berg covers a lot of helpful territory here, and does so competently. There are some less fluid moments (and some typos), but Berg does a good job of outlining the "natural right"-based argument for freedom of speech. He argues that freedom of speech is fundamental to all other rights, and has a huge effect on the health of society. He is an atheist and so doesn't have anything to base natural right on, but makes a decent case none-the-less.

[DomBlack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite boring at times as Berg traces through ancient history, but when he gets to politics and current events, which is what the average reader is reading it for, it gets better and he links back to the points he made about ancient history, that you had to get through first.

The main crux is an anti-censorship message. Of course, Berg is very right wing and I expected a far right polemic, but Berg is quite moderated and restrained in making his points and, once you get past his ancient history fetish, it becomes quite readable.

[Pete · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Defence of Free Speech (2012) by Chris Berg charts freedom of speech historically and then looks at Free Speech in Australia. The book looks at freedom of speech in the ancient western world, in the Christian world and through the birth of Liberalism and the Enlightenment. Finally free speech is examined in the modern western, Anglo-Saxon and Australian context.

The best parts of the book are those that deal with how Free Speech historically. The different ways that free speech was looked at in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome and the way that different things were censored by the church and later secular authorities give valuable background to the way that freedom of speech is today handled.

The rise of modern freedom of speech in the Dutch Republic and the role of Spinoza is emphasized. Spinoza’s grounding of free speech in both rights and the pragmatic harm caused by limiting free speech still applies and works today. Going on from the Dutch Republic’s relative freedom of expression Berg looks at the defense of free speech provided by Milton that he regards as deeply problematic due to the sizable list of qualifications that Milton proposed on atheist, Catholic and other thought. Free speech in the US and the ‘market of ideas’ defence offered by John Wendell Holmes is criticized by Berg. The abuses of free speech in the name of security are also outlines.

The chapter on Australia is somewhat oddly bolted on to the book. The jump from the general historical discussion to present day Australia is a little jarring. Recently Andrew Bolt has been punished for writing about how some people use their ethnicity to further their career. Bolt was punished because he may have caused offence which was remarkably unwise. Across the Australian political spectrum, but mainly from the right, the defence of Bolt was strenuous. The potentially more serious and ominous actions by the current, unpopular government to threaten the press are also described.

The book is well worth reading for a better understanding of why free speech matters and how it has evolved in Europe throughout the ages.

[Ninja · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, makes a lot of reasonable arguments and covers a lot of ground - does suffer from being incredibly dry at times, particularly large swathes of the middle section.