Free Speech: Ten Principles for a Connected World

by Timothy Garton Ash

Overview

Never in human history was there such a chance for freedom of expression. If we have Internet access, any one of us can publish almost anything we like and potentially reach an audience of millions. Never was there a time when the evils of unlimited speech flowed so easily across frontiers: violent intimidation, gross violations of privacy, tidal waves of abuse. A pastor burns a Koran in Florida and UN officials die in Afghanistan.
 
Drawing on a lifetime of writing about dictatorships and dissidents, Timothy Garton Ash argues that in this connected world that he calls cosmopolis, the way to combine freedom and diversity is to have more but also better free speech. Across all cultural divides we must strive to agree on how we disagree. He draws on a thirteen-language global online project—freespeechdebate.com—conducted out of Oxford University and devoted to doing just that. With vivid examples, from his personal experience of China's Orwellian censorship apparatus to the controversy around Charlie Hebdo to a very English court case involving food writer Nigella Lawson, he proposes a framework for civilized conflict in a world where we are all becoming neighbors.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780300161366
Publisher:	Yale University Press
Publication date:	05/24/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Timothy Garton Ash is Isaiah Berlin Professorial Fellow at St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford; Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University; and a regular contributor to the New York Review of Books. He is the winner of the 2017 Charlemagne Prize and has won the Orwell Prize for Journalism.

Table of Contents

Post-Gutenberg 1

Part I Cosmopolis 7

Speech 7

Cosmopolis 18

Cyberspace, CA 94305 20

The Struggle for Word Power 24

Big Dogs 31

Big Cats 47

P² 53

The Power of the Mouse 56

'Innocence of Muslims' and the Lost Innocence of You Tube 62

Ideals 73

Why Should Speech Be Free? 73

How Free Should Speech Be? How Should Free Speech Be? 79

Not by Law Alone 81

Laws and Norms 83

Offended? What's the Harm in That? 86

Reading John Stuart Mill in Beijing 95

Towards a More Universal Universalism 108

Part II User Guide 117

1 Lifeblood: 'We-all human beings- must be free and able to express ourselves, and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas, regardless of frontiers' 119

Free and Able 120

In Your Own Tongue 122

Seek, Receive and Impact 125

Regardless of Frontiers 127

2 Violence: 'We neither make threats of violence nor accept violent intimidation. 129

The Assassin's Veto 130

Modernising the Brandenburg Test 132

Dangerous Speech 135

Just War? 138

Confronting the Assassin's Veto 140

Cartoons and the Republication Dilemma 143

Practising Peaceful Conflict 148

3 Knowledge: 'We allow no taboos against and seize even' chance for the spread of knowledge'. 152

Scientifically Speaking 152

On Campus 154

Legislating History 157

Everything Open to Everyone? 161

Public-Good via Private Power 167

From Babel to Babble 174

Homo Zappiens 177

4 Journalism: 'We require uncensored, diverse, trustworthy media so we can make well-informed decisions and participate fully in political life'. 180

Media 181

Uncensored, but Not Without Limits 183

Diverse: Media Pluralism between Money and Politics 189

From Daily Me to Daily Kiosk 197

Trustworthy: Who Is a Journalist? What Is Good Journalism? 200

Towards a Networked Pnyx 205

5 Diversity: 'We express ourselves openly and with robust civility about all kinds of human difference'. 207

Openness and Robust Civility 208

Enforcing Civility? 214

Why Mature Democracies Should Move beyond Hate Speech Laws 219

Creating a Civil Society 229

Art and Humour 241

Pornography 246

Civility and Power 250

6 Religion: 'We respect the believer but not necessarily the content of the belief. 253

The Argument for Special Treatment 254

But What Is Religion? 257

Two Kinds of Respect 261

By Law or Custom? 267

The Trouble with Islam 272

Tolerance 280

7 Privacy: 'We must be able to protect our privacy and to counter slurs on our reputations, but not prevent scrutiny that is in the public interest'. 283

Are You Ever Alone? 284

Privacy, Reputation and the Public Interest 286

Battlefields of the Powerful 292

Trial by Twitter 297

Defending Your Reputation 299

A 'Right to Be Forgotten'? 304

Don't Be Zuckered 310

Janus Anonymous 313

8 Secrecy: 'We must be empowered to challenge all limits to freedom of information justified on such grounds as national security'. 319

Security and the Challenge Principle 320

The Price of Secrecy 324

Here We Need Laws 330

Who Will Guard the Guardians? 334

Whislleblowers and Leakers: An Essential Backstop 339

The Trouble with 'Well-Placed Sources' 341

The Importance of Not Being Anonymous 345

9 Icebergs: 'We defend the internet and other systems of communication against illegitimate encroachments by both public and private powers'. 348

Icebergs 348

One Internet, under Whom? 353

Net Neutrality 357

Privatising and Exporting Censorship 360

Ethical Algorithms? 364

Money Speaks (Too Loudly) 367

10 Courage: 'We decide for ourselves and face the consequences'. 370

Courage 371

Two Spirits of Liberty 374

Challenge 379

Notes 383

Bibliography 445

Acknowledgements 465

Index 469

Interviews

You're best known for your writing on political events around the world, especially in places undergoing turmoil. How does your interest in free speech relate to your past work?
Free speech is a pivotal issue for world politics. It will be crucial for the political evolution of China and hence its relations with the West. It will decide whether a Europe transformed by immigration from majority Muslim countries can combine diversity and freedom. Its absence is both symptom and cause of the parlous condition of the Middle East, not to mention Putin's Russia.
 
How do you view the United States' role in the global struggle over free speech?
The modern First Amendment tradition makes the US the most powerfully pro-free-speech country in the world. But emerging powers such as India and Brazil are not ready simply to copy it. I argue that the US has to rethink the way it talks about free speech to the world. And it has to practice at home what it preaches abroad, from net neutrality to respecting the privacy of people's e-mail.
 
Are we more free to write and say what we think than in the past, or less?
Obviously, much depends on who you are, and where. Each age has its own challenges. Three of the biggest threats to free speech today are violent intimidation by Islamists sans frontières, the model of “information sovereignty” promoted by China, and the way money howls through American politics.

Editorial Reviews

…[a] wise, up-to-the-minute and wide-ranging new survey…[Ash's] approach has the great merit of keeping distinct what is legally permissible and what is or ought to be socially acceptable…He writes with panache and understands the world he works in, especially the virtual world of the Net. Practical answers interest him more than doctrinal purity…Most of us are somewhat stunned at present by the scale and complexity of the forces in play, be they government surveillance; the "Great Firewall of China" that can censor the national web; the mounting strength of the Internet giants; or the frightening violence of militant Islam. Bewilderment is the easy option. Free Speech encourages us to take a breath, look hard at the facts and see how well-tried liberal principles can be applied and defended in daunting new circumstances.

The New York Times Book Review - Edmund Fawcett

05/09/2016
Historian, political commentator, and all-around keen observer Ash (Facts Are Subversive) has written a master class in political and historical analysis, assessing the current state of free speech throughout the world. The author proposes 10 principles through which to foster and grow this right in a "framework of civilized and peaceful conflict, suited to and sustainable in this world of neighbors." Almost farcically thorough, the book doesn't even pose the question "Why should speech be free?" until it has thoroughly laid the historical groundwork. Ash's case studies of issues like censorship in China are so up-to-date that one almost misses that Ash is equally comfortable delving into the 19th century philosophy of John Stuart Mill. It's the analysis of the Internet throughout, however, that feels most vital. The author's ninth principle is exemplary: "We defend the Internet and other systems of communication against illegitimate encroachments by both public and private powers," which touches on one of the key debates of our time; and here Ash characteristically gives himself the room to dive deep and explore all his lines of inquiry. Yes, the book is intimidatingly dense. Yes, you need to put in some effort to keep up. And yes, it is without a doubt worthy of your efforts. (May)

Publishers Weekly

"Admirably clear, . . . wise, up-to-the-minute and wide-ranging. . . . Free Speech encourages us to take a breath, look hard at the facts, and see how well-tried liberal principles can be applied and defended in daunting new circumstances."—Edmund Fawcett, New York Times Book Review

"Particularly timely. . . . Garton Ash argues forcefully that . . . there is an increasing need for freer speech. . . . A powerful, comprehensive book."—Economist

"Timothy Garton Ash rises to the task of directing us how to live civilly in our connected diversity."—John Lloyd, Financial Times

"Illuminating and thought-provoking. . . . [Garton Ash’s] larger project is not merely to defend freedom of expression, but to promote civil, dispassionate discourse, within and across cultures, even about the most divisive and emotive subjects."—Faramerz Dabhoiwala, The Guardian

"A brave and admirable attempt to construct a platform on which more people can find common ground, even if only on how to disagree without killing each other.  Whether the ten principles are used or not, they are a considerable achievement."—George Brock, Times Literary Supplement

"A thorough and well-argued contribution to the quest for global free speech norms."—Kirkus Reviews

"Garton Ash impresses with fact-filled, ideas-rich discussion that is routinely absorbing and illuminating."—Malcolm Forbes, American Interest

"Timothy Garton Ash’s new book Free Speech: Ten Principles for a Connected World is a rare thing: a worthwhile contribution to a debate without two developed sides. Ash does an excellent job laying out the theoretical and practical bases for the western liberal positions on free speech."—Malcolm Harris, New Republic

"An informative and bracing defense of free speech liberalism in the Internet age. . . . In a world where free speech can never be taken for granted, Garton Ash’s free speech liberalism is a good place to start any discussion."—David Luban, New York Review of Books

"I recommend addition of this title to the academic library collection. . . . Garton Ash has contributed to the ongoing dialogue about the role of free speech and how it works in our society."—Margaret Butler, Law Library Journal

Longlisted for the 2016 800-CEO-READ Business Book Awards in the Current Events & Public Affairs category

2016 Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award in the Publishing category

Selected as one of the Best Books of 2016 by The Economist

Won an Honorable Mention in the Government and Politics category for the 2017 American Publishers Awards for Professional & Scholarly Excellence (PROSE)

"A major piece of cultural analysis, sane, witty and urgently important. Timothy Garton Ash exemplifies the 'robust civility' he recommends as an antidote to the pervasive unhappiness, nervousness and incoherence around freedom of speech, rightly seeing the basic challenge as how we create a cultural and moral climate in which proper public argument is possible and human dignity affirmed."—Rowan Williams, Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge, and former Archbishop of Canterbury

"Timothy Garton Ash aspires to articulate norms that should govern freedom of communication in a transnational world. His work is original and inspiring. Free Speech is an unfailingly eloquent and learned book that delights as well as instructs."—Robert Post, Dean and Sol & Lillian Goldman Professor of Law, Yale Law School

"There are still countless people risking their lives to defend free speech and struggling to make lonely voices heard in corners around the world where voices are hard to hear. Let us hope that this book will bring confidence and hope to this world-as-city. I believe it will exert great influence."—Murong Xuecun, author of Leave Me Alone: A Novel of Chengdu

From the Publisher

Won an Honorable Mention in the Government and Politics category for the 2017 American Publishers Awards for Professional & Scholarly Excellence (PROSE).

PROSE

“A brave and admirable attempt to construct a platform on which more people can find common ground, even if only on how to disagree without killing each other.  Whether the ten principles are used or not, they are a considerable achievement.”—George Brock, Times Literary Supplement

Times Literary Supplement - George Brock

2016 Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award in the Publishing category.

Hugh M. Hefner - First Amendment Award

Longlisted for the 2016 800-CEO-READ Business Book Awards in the Current Events & Public Affairs category.

800-CEO-READ - Business Book Awards

"An informative and bracing defense of free speech liberalism in the Internet age . . . In a world where free speech can never be taken for granted, Garton Ash’s free speech liberalism is a good place to start any discussion"—David Luban, New York Review of Books

New York Review of Books - David Luban

"Timothy Garton Ash’s new book Free Speech: Ten Principles for a Connected World is a rare thing: a worthwhile contribution to a debate without two developed sides. Ash does an excellent job laying out the theoretical and practical bases for the western liberal positions on free speech."—Malcolm Harris, New Republic

New Republic - Malcolm Harris

“Illuminating and thought-provoking. . . . [Garton Ash’s] larger project is not merely to defend freedom of expression, but to promote civil, dispassionate discourse, within and across cultures, even about the most divisive and emotive subjects.”—Faramerz Dabhoiwala, Guardian

The Guardian - Faramerz Dabhoiwala

“Free Speech is a resource, a weapon, an encyclopedia of anecdote, example and exemplum that reaches toward battling restrictions on expression with mountains of data, new ideas, liberating ideas.”—Diane Roberts, Prospect

Prospect - Diane Roberts

“Timothy Garton Ash rises to the task of directing us how to live civilly in our connected diversity.”—John Lloyd, Financial Times

Financial Times - John Lloyd

Selected as one of the Best Books of 2016 by The Economist.

Economist

"Garton Ash impresses with fact-filled, ideas-rich discussion that is routinely absorbing and illuminating."—Malcolm Forbes, American Interest

The American Interest - Malcolm Forbes

"There are still countless people risking their lives to defend free speech and struggling to make lonely voices heard in corners around the world where voices are hard to hear. Let us hope that this book will bring confidence and hope to this world-as-city. I believe it will exert great influence.”--Murong Xuecun, author of Leave Me Alone: A Novel of Chengdu

Murong Xuecun

"Timothy Garton Ash aspires to articulate norms that should govern freedom of communication in a transnational world. His work is original and inspiring. Free Speech is an unfailingly eloquent and learned book that delights as well as instructs."—Robert Post, Dean and Sol & Lillian Goldman Professor of Law, Yale Law School

Robert Post

"A major piece of cultural analysis, sane, witty and urgently important. Timothy Garton Ash exemplifies the ‘robust civility’ he recommends as an antidote to the pervasive unhappiness, nervousness and incoherence around freedom of speech, rightly seeing the basic challenge as how we create a cultural and moral climate in which proper public argument is possible and human dignity affirmed."—Rowan Williams, Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge, and former Archbishop of Canterbury

Rowan Williams

“Admirably clear, . . . wise, up-to-the-minute and wide-ranging. . . . Free Speech encourages us to take a breath, look hard at the facts, and see how well-tried liberal principles can be applied and defended in daunting new circumstances.”—Edmund Fawcett, New York Times Book Review

The New York Times Book Review - Edmund Fawcett

2016-03-14
A field guide to the challenges of setting standards for free speech in a "cosmopolis" of diverse cultures. Working from a classically liberal standpoint, noted political analyst Ash (Professorial Fellow/St. Antony's Coll., Oxford; Facts Are Subversive: Political Writing from a Decade Without a Name, 2010, etc.) sets forth 10 principles to guide consideration of speech policies by governments, corporations, and other institutions. His aim is to encourage the advancement of "more and better free speech" and a well-considered discussion of "where the limits to freedom of expression and information should lie in important areas such as privacy, religion, national security and the ways we talk about human differences." While not concerned exclusively with the Internet, the author points out that it has brought all of humanity into immediate contact with one another, vastly increasing the possibilities for both mutual understanding and explosive strife. He gives particular attention to such problems as information access within closed societies like China and the "assassin's veto" threatened by Islamic extremists. The book's particular strength is that Ash delves into each of his proposed principles in extensive detail, meticulously examining the complexities inherent in each and the difficulties involved in articulating principles comprehensible and potentially applicable within and across political and cultural boundaries. Regrettably, an indulgence in marginal or purely illustrative issues occasionally creates unnecessary length and density. Ash's principles are a basis for discussion, not a coherent program. He is generally content to explore the issues without attempting to resolve them into specific policies, in part because different nations and cultures will have to accomplish this in their own ways. Their value lies in the possibility that in open societies, "international standards and international comparisons…can have traction, especially when amplified through free, diverse media," while elsewhere, they may encourage individuals "to engage, in their own languages and contexts, with more intransigent compatriots or coreligionists." A thorough and well-argued contribution to the quest for global free speech norms.

Kirkus Reviews