Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media
- Downloads：8117
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-04-18 19:21:35
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Jacob Mchangama
- ISBN：B09KJ91SBW
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Hiko Murs
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Söz azadlığının tarixinə aid yazılmış çox gözəl bir kitabdır。 Kaş bu kitabı keçən il media savadlılığı təliminə qatılmazdan əvvəl oxuyaydım。 💚💙💚
Sebastian Gebski
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I find this book extremely hard to review。On one hand， it's a full-blown chronicle of how the rights of free speech （FS） have been breached across the ages （and the definition of FS is quite loose， so you can find many cases of political oppression of all kinds here）。On the other hand， it doesn't answer ANY important questions related to FS。 Bah， I think it doesn't even try to capture them。 And doesn't even do that in the historical/philosophical context （what was the understanding of FS from an I find this book extremely hard to review。On one hand， it's a full-blown chronicle of how the rights of free speech （FS） have been breached across the ages （and the definition of FS is quite loose， so you can find many cases of political oppression of all kinds here）。On the other hand， it doesn't answer ANY important questions related to FS。 Bah， I think it doesn't even try to capture them。 And doesn't even do that in the historical/philosophical context （what was the understanding of FS from an ethical standpoint at a given time， in a given society） - at least not in a degree I'd expect。That's why the book left me disappointed and I find it hard to recommend it。 。。。more
Chris Boutté
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I can’t express how difficult it is to get me to enjoy a book that’s about history， but this book from Jacob Mchangama kept me engaged the entire time。 Personally， I think it’s extremely important for all of us to read books about free speech because there’s something innate that makes us want to censor and deplatform people that we need to fight against。 In this book， Jacob details the history of free speech from around the world， and it definitely accomplished the goal of reminding me why free I can’t express how difficult it is to get me to enjoy a book that’s about history， but this book from Jacob Mchangama kept me engaged the entire time。 Personally， I think it’s extremely important for all of us to read books about free speech because there’s something innate that makes us want to censor and deplatform people that we need to fight against。 In this book， Jacob details the history of free speech from around the world， and it definitely accomplished the goal of reminding me why free speech is so important。 Whether it was religion vs science， the rich vs the poor， or the Nazis and Communists， Mchangama shows the horrors of what happens when free speech isn’t allowed。 He also shows how people like Hitler and Stalin were able to weaponize “being silenced” only to turn around and take away free speech when they were in power。 The entire time I read this book， I just kept thinking， “I don’t think people realize just how awesome free speech is and why it’s so important。” Mchangama did an amazing job， and I don’t know how anyone can read this book and think that limiting speech is a good idea。 I highly recommend it， especially if you think people should be silenced or deplatformed。 。。。more
Alex
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"Free Speech" is a comprehensive， chronological selection of the words and efforts of proponents and defenders of free speech in French， British， Dutch， Danish and American history， with a penultimate chapter record of more recent global events。 It has the feel of an informative， long wikipedia entry with abundant whos， whats， whens and wheres， but little analysis or insightful commentary。One learns that there have been historical waves for Free Speech 。。。 against it， back to for， back to agains "Free Speech" is a comprehensive， chronological selection of the words and efforts of proponents and defenders of free speech in French， British， Dutch， Danish and American history， with a penultimate chapter record of more recent global events。 It has the feel of an informative， long wikipedia entry with abundant whos， whats， whens and wheres， but little analysis or insightful commentary。One learns that there have been historical waves for Free Speech 。。。 against it， back to for， back to against， etc。， and a consistent thread of most of its proponents being for it as long as it applied to and benefited only their own sphere of influence。 。。。more
Meaghan Babin
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I loved reading this book！ I found the writing to be very insightful and interesting。 I was intrigued by the premise and I enjoyed reading it from start to finish。
Kumar Ayush
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A quintessential read for the modern intellectual。This book has re-emphasised my belief: politics is about the conflict between those in power and those not in power。 Free speech and censorship are mere tools of those conflicts。
William Schram
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Free speech is one of the most treasured possessions Americans have。 At the moment， it may seem as though it is receding。 Large corporations can take away your voice at any time， leading to a slippery slope。The unfortunate thing about free speech is that everyone has a voice。 If my expertise is worth as much as another person’s ignorance， then why learn anything？ Why should I trust this news source when it only exists for clicks？ That is one of the reasons I avoid Twitter and Facebook like the p Free speech is one of the most treasured possessions Americans have。 At the moment， it may seem as though it is receding。 Large corporations can take away your voice at any time， leading to a slippery slope。The unfortunate thing about free speech is that everyone has a voice。 If my expertise is worth as much as another person’s ignorance， then why learn anything？ Why should I trust this news source when it only exists for clicks？ That is one of the reasons I avoid Twitter and Facebook like the plague。Free Speech is a book by Jacob Mchangama。 It explores the history of the idea from our records。 It goes through chronologically， covering Ancient Greece， Ancient Rome， Islamic Caliphates， Christian nations， and more。 Major shakeups in free speech occur all the time， with the largest amount happening from religion。Innovations in information distribution lead to upheavals as well。 The printing press led to cheaper books， while the internet is still changing the face of society。Thanks for reading my review， and see you next time。 。。。more
Stephen Harrison
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This book is a survey of free speech in different societies over the last 2000 years。 It starts in ancient Greece and then Rome before jumping forward to the Abbasid Dynasty and then early modern Europe。 It looks at the printing press and Martin Luther， the British colonies in America followed by the United States， the French Revolution， Weimar Germany， the Soviet Union and eventually moving up to modern day social media。 Mchangama makes a powerful and persuasive argument that free speech is ess This book is a survey of free speech in different societies over the last 2000 years。 It starts in ancient Greece and then Rome before jumping forward to the Abbasid Dynasty and then early modern Europe。 It looks at the printing press and Martin Luther， the British colonies in America followed by the United States， the French Revolution， Weimar Germany， the Soviet Union and eventually moving up to modern day social media。 Mchangama makes a powerful and persuasive argument that free speech is essential to free society。 Governments that curtail free speech to prevent harmful speech ultimately do more damage。 His most persuasive argument is that the Weimar Republic passed laws to silence Hitler。 The laws probably helped his popularity and were then used against his critics when he took power。 He also points out that despots and tyrants inevitably curtail free speech。 He uses examples of Stalin， Mao， Putin Erdogan， Al-Sisi， Putin and the Chinese Communist Party。 Almost all of them promise free speech， but actually shut anything down that criticizes them。 He points to the United States as the champion of free speech， but is concerned that recent trends have undermined that。 His criticism comes more from the left than that right， as he thinks a free press and lack of censorship were important parts in undermining Donald Trump， no champion of free speech himself。 But he thinks the shutting down of potentially offensive speech is counterproductive and undermines a core principle of our society。He is also concerned about policing the internet。 Mchangama is definitely no fan of Trump， but is concerned that his ban from mainstream social media was done in a completely opaque way。 He calls it "moderation without representation"， which is a great term。 His suggestion is to decentralize the internet so no-one has that kind of censoring power。Mchangama's book reads like a very well-researched and documented sermon on the value of free speech and a free press。 I highly recommend it。 。。。more
Flo
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An extensive history on free speech。
Ietrio
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Socrates is probably a book character， and Social Media is controlled by the Government on which land they host the servers with the data。 But that is not the main problem。 The main problem is Mchangama: he thinks that free speech is whatever the mob likes。
R。J。 Gilmour
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Mchangama's book looks at the history of free speech both as an idea and in practice from Ancient Greece to the present day。 A rich， detailed book it is the perfect primer for anyone interested in the long and often contested history of free speech and its relationship to forms of government。 "Such outbreaks of "elite panic" may reflect real concerns and dilemmas， but it is notable that they tend to erupt whenever the public sphere is expanded and previously marginalized groups are given a voice Mchangama's book looks at the history of free speech both as an idea and in practice from Ancient Greece to the present day。 A rich， detailed book it is the perfect primer for anyone interested in the long and often contested history of free speech and its relationship to forms of government。 "Such outbreaks of "elite panic" may reflect real concerns and dilemmas， but it is notable that they tend to erupt whenever the public sphere is expanded and previously marginalized groups are given a voice。" 6"For Athenians， the state did not exist as a separate entity from the people。 Free speech was thus an inherent part of the Athenian political system and civil culture， rather than an individual human right protecting one against the state， as we tend to understand it modern liberal democracies。" 12"The Athenians had two distinct but overlapping concepts of free speech。 Isegoria referred to equality of public， civic speech， while parrhesia can be translated as "frank" or "uninhabited" speech。 Isegoria was exercised in the Athenian Assembly-the ekklesia where each session opened with the question， "who wishes to speak？" Paarhesia allowed the citizens to be bold and honest in expressing their opinions even when outside the assembly and extended to many spheres of Athenian life including philosophy and theater。" 13"Despite the elitist political model of Rome， the idea of liberty， or libertas， had a special place in Roman hearts and minds。" 23"In any event， since Athenian democracy and Roman republicanism had long since died， the burning question Christianity raised was not about the limits of political speech but rather the issue of religious tolerance， which would dominate debates over the limits of speech and thoughts for centuries。" 30Milton's "Areopagitica， a plea for press freedom。。。censorship led to 'the discouragement of all learning， and the stop of truth， not only by disexercising and blunting our abilities， in what we know already， but by hindering and cropping the discovery that might be yet further made， both in religious and civil wisdom。" 105-106"。。。where the Leveller Colonel Thomas Rainsborough made the case for universal suffrage and democracy。" 109"Before 1650， the major fault line dividing Europeans was confessional-adherence to a particular denomination's beliefs。" 117"The most striking development in the practice of censorship in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries was that it passed from the church to the secular heads of state。。。" 118"The flood of print created an irresistible urge to share and discuss the news and novel ideas in the many new venues of Europe's emerging public sphere。。。London coffee houses were egalitarian in nature。 What mattered was the intellectual output you brought to the table-not the size of your wallet nor the purity of your bloodline。" 119"In his hugely influential Commentaries on the Laws of England from the late 1760s， he [Blackstone] argued that press freedom was "essential to the nature of a free state。" But this only entailed a protection against prepublication censorship， not against subsequent punishments。" 123"。。。the most influential argument for free speech was a series of letters published in the London Journal between 1720 and 1723。 Known as Cato's Letters。。。Letter 15。。。opened with this stirring salvo: "Without freedom of thought， there can be no such thing as wisdom: and no such thing as publick liberty， without freedom of speech。" 124"In November 1737， Franklin published an article， "On Freedom of Speech and the Press，" in which he argued， "Freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government; when the support is taken away， the constitution of a free society is dissolved， and tyranny is erected on its ruins。" 152"Chapter 2 of Mill's On Liberty is hailed by many as the foundational text on the importance of free speech。 Of course， several of Mill's arguments had been made much earlier。" 214"Helped by the gradual introduction of the steam press in the 1840s， newspapers were on the way to becoming the first truly mass media in history。" 225"As we have learned， free speech has always been the first target of authoritarians who intend to subvert democracy。。。This ancient pattern is repeating itself in the twenty-first century， during which free speech has systematically eroded in Hungary， Turkey， Poland， Serbia， Brazil and India-the six countries that have suffered the worst autocratization in the past decade。。。" 328-329"Harvard professor of history Seri Plokhy compared China's response to that of Soviet Russia to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986， noting that， "lack of freedom of speech helps turn potential disasters into real ones and national tragedies into international cataclysms。" 334"In short， the internet promised to bring about an era of universal free and equal speech， with cyberspace as a global agora。" 350"These centralized platforms can act as choke points for "undesirable" content， as Alex Jones found out。 David Kaye has noted that "a centralizing internet dominated by corporative imperatives。。。is friendlier to censorship。。。than the horizontal web of blogs and websites。" 354"。。。an what Jonathan Rauch has called an "epistemic crisis" with truth itself at risk。。。" 359"But while online expression may sometimes lead to real-life harm， it does not necessarily follow that placing restrictions on free speech is an effective remedy。" 371"Madison warned that "some degree of abuse is inseparable from the proper use of every thing: and in no instance is this more true， than in that of the press。" 387 。。。more
LaShanda Chamberlain
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If there was ever a more relevant book， it is this book。 The term "Free Speech" is tossed around so often yet many people don't fully understand it nor know its full history。 Author Jacob Mchangama did an excellent tracing back the history and origin of free speech。 Before reading this book， I had an adequate understanding of free speech but I learned a great deal from it。 I highly recommend this book。 It is essential reading for all！！ If there was ever a more relevant book， it is this book。 The term "Free Speech" is tossed around so often yet many people don't fully understand it nor know its full history。 Author Jacob Mchangama did an excellent tracing back the history and origin of free speech。 Before reading this book， I had an adequate understanding of free speech but I learned a great deal from it。 I highly recommend this book。 It is essential reading for all！！ 。。。more
Dylan Jones
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Overall impressive history of free speech， traced mainly from its origins in the agora to its contemporary place in the Constitution and online。 Balanced read that charts an interesting path through history， though I’m still left looking for answers on how to solve the current social media accelerating hyper partisanship / disinformation problem。 Restriction of speech， broadly speaking， is never the answer。
Phillip
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4。5+ / 5。0Wonderful Historical Journey。 Takes until last 50 pages to deal wit recent evnts。Nice development theme of continuity in pattern of ebb and flow and role of "enlightened" to initiate trend of retraction that eventually turns against them 4。5+ / 5。0Wonderful Historical Journey。 Takes until last 50 pages to deal wit recent evnts。Nice development theme of continuity in pattern of ebb and flow and role of "enlightened" to initiate trend of retraction that eventually turns against them 。。。more
Simone
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Best book ever written about free speech。 Its this years must read！
Eric
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The best and probably most important book of the year
LLDW
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Recommended by The Economist February 5， 2022 issue:https://www。economist。com/culture/202。。。 Recommended by The Economist February 5， 2022 issue:https://www。economist。com/culture/202。。。 。。。more
Jeff
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One Of The Most Thorough Histories Of The Field I've Come Across。 This is exactly what the title here says - easily one of the most thorough histories of the concepts of free speech I've ever seen， from their earliest incarnations into where the two competing versions came into their own in Athens - more unlimited， though not without certain hypocrisies - and Rome - more elite controlled and even， as the title notes， into the realm of social media， Donald Trump， and even （with a few scant senten One Of The Most Thorough Histories Of The Field I've Come Across。 This is exactly what the title here says - easily one of the most thorough histories of the concepts of free speech I've ever seen， from their earliest incarnations into where the two competing versions came into their own in Athens - more unlimited， though not without certain hypocrisies - and Rome - more elite controlled and even， as the title notes， into the realm of social media， Donald Trump， and even （with a few scant sentences） COVID-19。 Timed a bit interestingly （and without any way to know beforehand） so close to the Neil Young / Joe Rogan spat over Spotify， this is truly a strong history for anyone who claims to promote the ideal， one that shows that pretty well everyone who does or ever has has been a hypocrite to some degree or another regarding the topic。 Indeed， if any real critique can be had here， it is that Mchangama， even while noting the cenorious actions of social media giants of late， fails to note that corporations can have a chilling effect on the free speech of their employees and those they do business with （hello， Spotify and too many businesses to list here）。 Though he does at least touch on the idea as it relates to modern academia and yes， cancel culture。 There are also a few throwaway lines late re: "fact checkers" and COVID "misinformation" that are more YMMV level on， but which in the end aren't substantial enough to warrant a star deduction over。 This is， again， absolutely a book that anyone who claims to love free speech should absolutely read。 Very much recommended。 。。。more
TimetoFangirl
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I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。Actual Rating = 3。5 stars， rounded up to 4。Free Speech is an exhaustively researched history of free speech throughout human history， from ancient days through to modern。 The author presents all the times the ideals of free speech has popped up in society and， sadly， how often those ideals have been crushed。 Mchangama also does an excellent job highlighting that free speech is essential to tolerance and how free speech has histori I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。Actual Rating = 3。5 stars， rounded up to 4。Free Speech is an exhaustively researched history of free speech throughout human history， from ancient days through to modern。 The author presents all the times the ideals of free speech has popped up in society and， sadly， how often those ideals have been crushed。 Mchangama also does an excellent job highlighting that free speech is essential to tolerance and how free speech has historically been the primary tool available to oppressed groups seeking an end to tyranny。If I had a complaint about this text， it would be that the writing is a bit dense。 This is a book that you read slowly， sitting with the information， versus rushing through。 I'll be interested to see if they end up making an audiobook version， as I could see that being a good format for the content。 。。。more
Aaron Brown
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