Blog #3- Eight Values of Free Expression

In the past couple of weeks in class, we have learned a lot about the first amendment and how it is applied to life today. The definition of the first amendment is, “an amendment that prevents the government from making laws which regulate an establishment of religion, or that would prohibit the free exercise of religion, or abridge the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, the freedom of assembly, or the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” Specifically, we have been learning about freedom of speech. Because we are reviewing the values of free expression, I want to define freedom of speech. In short, it is the principle that supports the freedom of a person to produce their opinions and ideas without fear of censorship or getting in trouble with the law.

In this blog post, I will be reflecting on the Eight Values of Free Expression and choose the two that stood out to me and why. The Eight Values include Marketplace of Ideas, Participation in Self Government, Stable Change, Individual Self-Fulfilment, Check on Government Power, Promote Tolerance, Promote Innovation and Protect Dissent.


After reviewing the eight values of free expression I noticed the one that stuck out to me was number three, stable change. Stable change states, “it has been suggested that a society in which angry and alienated citizens are allowed to speak their mind, or “vent”, will be more stable, as people will be less likely to resort to violence. It has been pointed out that allowing the alienated and biconnected to speak freely enables government to better monitor potentially dangerous groups who would otherwise act more clandestinely. Ultimately, it is in the government’s own self-interest to allow such venting.” This value of free expression stuck out to me because I agree with it. If a person is angry and has the right to speak their mind on it, violence and acting out can be prevented. When people are allowed to speak freely it is easier for the government to see the difference between people who are able to speak freely, in a good way, and who is going to potentially act out. It is clear that this speech theory will always be relevant. With free speech being a part of the first amendment, stable change will always be around. This theory I believe is most prevalent today because of all the court cases that are happening involving speech and hate.


Another speech theory that stuck out to me was a marketplace of ideas. This theory is also known as the discovery of truth. The definition of this theory 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." I chose this concept because I liked the overall purpose of it. To me, it means that in a marketplace of ideas we use competition to judge truth and fairness. This theory encourages people to have their own ideas and thoughts which relates back to the first amendment and freedom of speech. In today’s world, I like to believe that we are all free to express whatever we believe in without being held back. This really shows today within the news and how everyone is allowed to have their own opinions even if not everyone agrees.