Over my head? You lefties are pissing into the wind.
I was pointing out that of course a lefty from Canada like freddie would not want to hear contrary opinions.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketplace_of_ideas
The
marketplace of ideas is a rationale for
freedom of expression based on an
analogy to the
economic concept of a
free market. The marketplace of ideas holds that the
truth will emerge from the competition of ideas in free, transparent public discourse, and concludes that ideas and ideologies will be culled according to their superiority or inferiority and widespread acceptance among the population. The concept is often applied to discussions of
patent law as well as
freedom of the press and the responsibilities of the media in a
liberal democracy.
The marketplace of ideas
metaphor is founded in the philosophy of
John Milton in his work "
Areopagitica" in 1644 and also
John Stuart Mill in his book,
On Liberty in 1859 (although neither use the term "marketplace").[
citation needed] It was later used in opinions by the
Supreme Court of the United States. The first reference to the "free trade in ideas" within "the competition of the market" appears in Justice
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.'s dissent in
Abrams v. United States.
[1] The phrase "marketplace of ideas" first appears in a concurring opinion by Justice
William O. Douglas in the Supreme Court decision
United States v. Rumely in 1953: "Like the publishers of newspapers, magazines, or books, this publisher bids for the minds of men in the market place of ideas."
[2] The Court's 1969 decision in
Brandenburg v. Ohio enshrined the marketplace of ideas as the dominant public policy in
American free speech law (that is, against which narrow exceptions to freedom of speech must be justified by specific countervailing public policies). While the previous cases dealt with natural persons,[
citation needed] the 1976 decision
Virginia State Pharmacy Board v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council expanded it to corporations by creating a curtailed corporate commercial speech right, striking down a government regulation of advertising in the process.
[3] It has not been seriously questioned since in United States jurisprudence,[
citation needed] but the legacy of those decisions have lead to subsequent decisions like
Citizens United v. FEC that curtailed the government's ability to regulate corporate speech
[3] and much more expansive advertising campaigns, commercial and political, than Americans had experienced previously.
[4]
The general idea that free speech should be tolerated because it will lead toward the truth has a long history.
[5] The English poet
John Milton suggested that restricting speech was not necessary because "in a free and open encounter", truth would prevail.
[6] U.S. President
Thomas Jefferson argued that it is safe to tolerate "error of opinion ... where reason is left free to combat it".
[7] Fredrick Siebert echoed the idea that free expression is self-correcting in
Four Theories of the Press: "Let all with something to say be free to express themselves. The true and sound will survive. The false and unsound will be vanquished. Government should keep out of the battle and not weigh the odds in favor of one side or the other."
[8] These writers did not rely on the economic analogy to a market.
If beliefs such as
religions are considered as ideas, the marketplace of ideas concept favors a marketplace of religions rather than forcing a state religion or forbidding incompatible beliefs. In this sense, it provides a rationale for
freedom of religion.
[9]
In recent years questions have arisen regarding the existence of markets in ideas. Several scholars have noted differences between the way ideas are produced and consumed and the way more traditional goods are produced and consumed.
[10] It has also been argued that the idea of the marketplace of ideas as applied to religion "incorrectly assumes a level playing field" among religions.
[11] In addition, the idea of a marketplace of ideas has been applied to the study of scientific research as a social institution.
[12]
Personally, I can't wait for you to start.
