America’s real danger isn’t free speech. It’s silence.

Founder of The Future of Free Speech Jacob Mchangama argues that free speech is not a threat but society’s strongest safeguard against violence. Suppressing expression creates a pressure cooker that can push people toward violent action when peaceful dissent is denied. While acknowledging its harms — especially in the digital age — Mchangama warns that censorship is far worse.

JACOB MCHANGAMA: In our society, a lot of people view free speech as something that leads to harm and violence.

But I would argue that free speech is actually the antithesis of violence.

It's really a revolutionary way for human beings living in complex societies to facilitate collective action.

But when you suppress it, it becomes a pressure cooker, and it's much more likely to erupt into violence.

If you're allowed to criticize the government, criticize different ideas, you have an opportunity to change things for the better according to your beliefs.

But if you are denied that opportunity, and if you're denied that opportunity by use of force, well, then maybe you're also more likely to say, well, then me using violence is also justified because I can't criticize the government. If I do so they put me in jail or kill me. And so the only way for me to institute change is to use violence. So that's a vicious cycle, right?

And so generally in democracies we've seen that free speech results in less violent social conflict.

Be very careful what you wish for.

Free speech has its harms and costs. It has its ugly sides. Those ugly sides are more visible in our digital age.

But if we adopt more strict censorship, the cure is very likely to be worse than the disease.

And freedom, democracy, equality and tolerance are likely to suffer, and we're more likely to live in a more violent than a less violent world.