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I agree that having some of the world's broadest protections for free speech is important to the US political stability, & its technological/cultural/economic p
by gojomo 4y ago
I agree that having some of the world's broadest protections for free speech is important to the US political stability, & its technological/cultural/economic power.
But, hasn't the UK's "current system of government" been at least as continuous as the US for longer? (Has any regime-discontinuity happened since, say, the adoption of the US Constitution?)
- kube-system 4y agoIt does very much depend on how you define “continuous” and “democracy”. That aside, I think there is enough evidence that restricting political speech in a democracy kind of defeats the point and it disenfranchises people. Some counter this by saying “well we only want to ban the extreme speech”, but I’d argue those are exactly the people who are likely to take up pitchforks first. A right to only “moderate” political speech doesn’t make any sense. Moderate speech isn’t a target of censorship.
- gojomo 4y agoSo what are your definitions of those terms, that imply the US "has operated under its current system of government for longer than" the UK?