ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on arguments for and against hate speech law that are rooted in distinctively political principles, which is to say, principles that speak directly and explicitly to the values and structures of democratic self-government, political legitimacy, and political obligation. It examines several arguments of political morality relating to freedom of expression and hate speech law. In the past it might have been supposed that principles of political morality support free speech only in a narrow way, applying exclusively to the limited category of political speech. It also includes the formal doctrine of non-exclusion meaning that nobody's voice is intrinsically less important than anybody else's and therefore no individual may be formally excluded from participating in the formation of public opinion. The political legitimacy highlights the need for collective authorization of the political order and depends on whether or not citizens can regard themselves as the co-authors of the public opinion that informs political decisions.
