A recent New York Times story claiming conservatives have “weaponized” free speech put the spotlight on a law review article by Georgetown law professor Louis Michael Seidman titled, “Can Free Speech Be Progressive?” Seidman’s answer to his question is “no.” He is probably not wrong, even if some of his arguments are.
...He writes that fundamentally, “free speech law is much more conducive to constitutionally required libertarianism” and “entrenches a social view at war with key progressive objectives.”...
...Seidman first objects that free speech is tied to the ownership of places and things – and that such ownership is largely private, corporate, and unequal....
...Seidman’s second objection is that the First Amendment “assumes that speech is ‘free’ when government ‘makes no laws,’ and that it is laws that have the potential to ‘abridge’ the freedom of speech.” In contrast, progressives believe “the government has a duty to act affirmatively to counterbalance private power and correct for the unfairness of market allocations,” including in the marketplace of ideas.
...Seidman’s final objection is that free speech law is concerned with government neutrality regarding content, viewpoint, and speaker. He observes that under classical liberalism, free speech is how political disputes get resolved; thus, “the Constitution is supposed to provide the mechanism by which people with opposing views can settle their disagreements through law rather than power.” In contrast, Seidman asserts progressivism cannot be neutral, because it has already decided the answers.
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Originally Posted by barb012
