Introduction: the First Amendment and American democracy -- Adversary democracy and American political theory -- Cooperative democracy and public discourse: the flawed free speech theories of Robert Post and Alexander Meiklejohn -- Commercial speech and the twilight zone of viewpoint discrimination -- The anticorruption principle, free expression, and the democratic process -- Adversary democracy, political fraud, and the dilemma of anonymity -- Conclusion: the optimistic skepticism of the adversary First Amendment
Summary
This study presents a unique and controversial rethinking of the intersection between modern American democratic theory and free expression. It reshapes free speech as an outgrowth of adversary democracy, arguing that individuals should have the opportunity to affect the outcomes of collective decision-making according to their own personal values and interests. Adversary democracy recognises the inevitability of conflict within a democratic society, as well as the need for regulation of the conflict to prevent the onset of tyranny. In doing so, it embraces pluralism, diversity and individual growth and development
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 185-235) and index
