ABSTRACT
A political principle of free speech is warranted only if reasons to protect speech go beyond the reasons for a minimal principle of liberty. This chapter indicates why one can speak of a principle, or principles, of free speech only if there are bases for protecting speech that do not apply similarly to some substantially broader category of acts. It clarifies the idea of a principle of free speech and examines the nature and classification of justifications. The chapter also suggests how the distinction between consequentialist and nonconsequentialist justifications usefully differentiates between reasons depending directly on empirical grounds and those resting on other normative claims. It then provides an account of multiple justifications divided along consequentialist and nonconsequentialist lines. A principle of freedom of speech asserts some range of protection for speech that goes beyond limitations on government interference with other activities.
