The Case Against Free Speech: The First Amendment, Fascism, and the Future of Dissent

In this incisive treatise, journalist Moskowitz (How to Kill a City) argues that the concept of free speech has been distorted as a cover for maintaining existing systems of power. The author examines the 2017 Charlottesville far-right “free speech rally” that escalated into a neo-Nazi parade culminating in the murder of a progressive activist. Moskowitz then analyzes recent incidents on college campuses that have inflamed the right, including the cancellation of a 2017 speaking engagement by conservative author Charles Murray after protests at Middlebury College and demonstrations at Reed College calling for a more inclusive curriculum. The term free speech, Moskowitz claims, has been co-opted by conservative activists as a means to spread their ideology to college campuses. Moskowitz recounts a long history of conservatives censoring the left while claiming their own speech rights are being violated, noting examples of jailed socialist dissidents and union members during WWII, as well as present-day campaigns of harassment orchestrated by conservative organizations against professors and students critical of Israel or right-wing causes. Moskowitz asserts that the true free speech “crisis” is that only the wealthiest (and whitest) American voices have real influence and that “massively overhauling our government” is the only way to change that. The analysis here is keen, complex, and well-organized. It probably won’t convince right-wing readers, but others will appreciate it. (Aug.)