Sean Illing

american liberal democracy was very healthy in the sense that it was you know there were exceptions but there were certainly long periods of relative stability but there were very high prices to pay for that like lots of people were excluded from political life and a lot of speech wasn't allowed to express itself in the public square right and so there are always trade-offs and you could look at the culture today like there's like a lot of

american liberal democracy was very healthy in the sense that it was you know there were exceptions but there were certainly long periods of relative stability but there were very high prices to pay for that like lots of people were excluded from political life and a lot of speech wasn't allowed to express itself in the public square right and so there are always trade-offs and you could look at the culture today like there's like a lot of

a lot of people making noises about how free speech is under attack and there's a sweeping culture of censoriousness and all that. But you can also look at the world today and say, well, speech is actually more free than it's ever been by a country mile in the sense that there are fewer barriers to entering the public arena and speaking.

a lot of people making noises about how free speech is under attack and there's a sweeping culture of censoriousness and all that. But you can also look at the world today and say, well, speech is actually more free than it's ever been by a country mile in the sense that there are fewer barriers to entering the public arena and speaking.

Everyone can be their own communication platform at this point. More people are allowed to speak now than ever. And that has obviously created a lot of tension in the system. But it is free and certainly freer than it was in the past. And I think that's a good thing, even though there's a lot of growing pains involved with that.

Everyone can be their own communication platform at this point. More people are allowed to speak now than ever. And that has obviously created a lot of tension in the system. But it is free and certainly freer than it was in the past. And I think that's a good thing, even though there's a lot of growing pains involved with that.

I mean, if the price of a stable democratic culture is a significant chunk of that society being excluded, then I think that's too high a price to pay.

I mean, if the price of a stable democratic culture is a significant chunk of that society being excluded, then I think that's too high a price to pay.

I think they can both be true at the same time. I mean, I think if your position is to say that cancel culture is itself a phantasm, that they're not actually people and forces out there punishing people speech in one way or the other. I think that's just not the case.

I think they can both be true at the same time. I mean, I think if your position is to say that cancel culture is itself a phantasm, that they're not actually people and forces out there punishing people speech in one way or the other. I think that's just not the case.

But it's also true that if you allow everyone to speak, the boundaries of permissible discourse are going to be challenged, and they're going to move. And that process is always bumpy. It's always contested. It can feel like unfreedom, perhaps, if you're on the wrong end of it. And maybe there are cases where that's really true. But I think both of those things can be happening at the same time.

But it's also true that if you allow everyone to speak, the boundaries of permissible discourse are going to be challenged, and they're going to move. And that process is always bumpy. It's always contested. It can feel like unfreedom, perhaps, if you're on the wrong end of it. And maybe there are cases where that's really true. But I think both of those things can be happening at the same time.

I think a lot of the people who are deeply worried about

I think a lot of the people who are deeply worried about

cancel culture don't reflect enough on what's actually happening on these bigger questions we're talking about here again it feels very suffocating but it really is just i think the a culture of free speech doing what a culture of free speech does unleashing lots of different voices lots of different opinions lots of different styles of communication lots of disputes about where the lines are

cancel culture don't reflect enough on what's actually happening on these bigger questions we're talking about here again it feels very suffocating but it really is just i think the a culture of free speech doing what a culture of free speech does unleashing lots of different voices lots of different opinions lots of different styles of communication lots of disputes about where the lines are

and it's playing itself out.

and it's playing itself out.

I think it's very likely. I think there's almost a kind of comfort in looking at the history of democracy in media and noticing this pattern of revolution and how we communicate lots of disruption and disorder. Then there's a lag period and we adjust. You know, I mean, I was just looking at a quote this morning actually from McLuhan.

I think it's very likely. I think there's almost a kind of comfort in looking at the history of democracy in media and noticing this pattern of revolution and how we communicate lots of disruption and disorder. Then there's a lag period and we adjust. You know, I mean, I was just looking at a quote this morning actually from McLuhan.