Free Speech Always

The shocking assassination of Charlie Kirk has jolted America into a fresh reckoning with one of its most foundational values: freedom of expression. In the aftermath, voices across the political spectrum have wrestled with grief, anger, and fear. But as libertarians have urged, this moment is not a reason to shrink from free speech but a reason to defend it more fiercely. Civilizations falter not when citizens argue passionately, but when they are silenced.

The tragedy reminds us that speech is never merely an abstraction. It is a living principle tested most during moments of crisis. The temptation to curtail it—whether through government regulation, private censorship, or cultural pressure—intensifies when emotions run high. Yet history teaches that the only safe response is deeper commitment to open dialogue. Suppressing speech in the name of stability almost always produces the opposite: resentment, radicalization, and violence.

Libertarianism.org’s Free Speech collection traces the long and often perilous road of free expression. It begins with history: John Milton’s Areopagitica, John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty, and the Levellers’ radical insistence that even ordinary citizens had the right to speak truth to power. These voices laid the intellectual foundations for liberal societies where dissent was not a crime but a civic duty.

From there, the collection highlights the distinctly libertarian defense of free speech as “the most liberal value,” as David D’Amato puts it. Free expression is not just a legal right, but a moral principle rooted in individual dignity and autonomy. When we protect speech, especially offensive or unpopular speech, we affirm the equal standing of every person as a moral agent capable of persuasion, criticism, and self-​government.

But the challenge of free expression has never been confined to parchment constitutions. Each generation confronts new battlegrounds. In the 20th century, Lenny Bruce fought for the right to make people laugh—and think—without fear of obscenity prosecutions. In our time, the internet has magnified both the opportunities and perils of free speech. As Will Duffield argues, the digital age demands a libertarian vision of expression that recognizes how private platforms act as both enablers and gatekeepers of communication. How we balance openness with responsibility in online spaces will shape liberty for decades to come.

The courts, too, remain a vital front. Paul Sherman’s discussion of the litigation struggles over political and occupational speech underscores how fragile First Amendment protections can be without vigilant defense. Meanwhile, debates over broadcasting, as Cato’s work on FCC restrictions shows, reveal that even in America some speakers are still treated as second-​class citizens in the marketplace of ideas.

Free speech is also about culture, not just law. Deirdre McCloskey reminds us that rhetoric—the art of persuasion—is at the heart of a free society. Without a culture that prizes debate and tolerates disagreement, formal rights risk becoming hollow. This is why the “Me, Not Thee” temptation—the urge to defend free speech for my allies but not for my opponents—remains such a danger. True liberty requires reciprocity: my defense of your right to speak is inseparable from your defense of mine.

Anchoring this collection in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination is neither an endorsement nor a critique of his views but a principled recognition of something deeper. Violence against speech is violence against all of us. A society that responds by narrowing the scope of permissible expression will not grow safer, only more brittle. The libertarian case for free speech is ultimately hopeful. It insists that even in times of upheaval, trust in liberty is wiser than fear of it.


The miracle of self-​government depends on citizens willing to hear, challenge, persuade, and be persuaded. This collection is offered as a reminder of that inheritance—and as a call to renew our courage in defending it.