Free Speech in Great Britain

Seminar paper from the year 1999 in the subject Communications - Theories, Models, Terms and Definitions, grade: 87%, University of Manchester (Department of Sociology), course: Culture, Modernity and the Media, 28 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Few people would deny that free speech is a pillar of democracy that has to be vigorously defended against anyone trying to restrict it. Free speech, it seems, holds a strong position in modern Western societies like the British. I will argue in the following pages that this is only partly true. Beginning with an examination of the very nature of free speech, I will show that it is rather a means to an end than a high democratic principle. I will then discuss how a free flow of information is limited by the transporting media, and how both political and economic imperatives can lead to further restriction. Wherever possible, I will use examples from the British media history to illustrate this argument. Having thus developed a more realistic picture of what the current situation of free speech is like, I will look at the implications of technological change in the media. With the help of a speculative scenario I will argue that this change provides a chance to overcome current limitations. Personally, I think this is something worth striving for. This essay may thus be regarded as an explanation as well as a defence of this point of view. At the very least, however, it should mark a contribution to a more rational discourse about free speech and democracy. [...]