Introduction

Abstract

Free speech and open inquiry are values often thought central to a liberal democracy for reasons both liberal and democratic. Currently, there is a great deal of concern that free speech and open inquiry are threatened throughout Western countries. This introductory chapter spells out two questions that orient the volume: What is driving this rejection of free speech and open inquiry in Anglophone countries? And what might be done about it? Then it outlines five arguments for free speech: the argument from truth, the argument from democracy, the argument from the individual, the argument from community, and the argument from change and stability. Finally, this chapter outlines the organization of the volume. Part I includes five essays on the legal bases of free speech protection in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and Hong Kong as well as the current state of free speech and open inquiry in these regions. Part II includes several essays that address contemporary issues and concerns throughout Anglophone countries regarding free speech and open inquiry.