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Preface
Why another book on freedom of speech? It is hardly the situation that the literature does not already have a large complement of current and classical works. My response to this rather obvious question begins with the observation that the traditional theories do not resolve all of the questions regarding freedom of expression and this is especially true with respect to United States Supreme Court interpretations of the First Amendment. Understanding freedom of expression is a work in progress, and new aspects seem to be continually emerging from the pens of legal philosophers. My intent was not to attempt a grand or unified theory that purports to explain everything concerning free speech and its restrictions, but rather I proceeded with the hope that this discussion could open new areas of inquiry, namely, exploration of the sociological or even anthropological traditions in addition to the more traditional legal and philosophical justifications for freedom of expression. In a nutshell, the central theme of this book is that free speech and its limitations are the natural and necessary consequences of social development in modern complex societies and that inappropriate restrictions or extensions of freedom of speech can hobble society itself by promoting unsustainable social disharmony.