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Importance Of Freedom Of Speech In John Stuart Mill's On Liberty

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Canada is widely known and thought of as being a democratic county where freedom of speech is naturally given to everyone. However, during situations of opposing views and national conflicts, a very common question rises – are Canadian citizens actually free to speak without limitations?

In On Liberty, John Stuart Mill explores the limitations and regulations on freedom of speech and formulates a theory that the intervention of government would result in degeneration of freedom of speech for citizens. However, in the situation in the episode of ‘The Agenda’, his theory gets challenged due to its ineffectiveness. The episode tackles a continuing political issue of freedom of speech and the limitations following it. The matter begins with a particular …show more content…
Currently, the only restrictions seem to be about harming other members of society. However, another restriction for freedom of speech in Canada should also include the necessity for all opinions and beliefs to be discussed and expressed on equal platforms regarding important issues. This would also decrease the amount people get offended by since they would be given an equal opportunity to explain their perspective as well. Furthermore, similar to Mill’s thoughts, by enabling society to express all opinions for opposing sides, the argument can be more thoroughly examined and discussed. This enables the population to critically analyze both sides of the argument in order to arrive at a well-informed and practical opinion. As Mill states in his novel, the process of defending personal belief strengthens the confidence associated with the claim (2002, pp.16). He also explains by exploring different opinions on a particular topic, it allows people to obtain a holistic view on the issue and widen their thoughts to understand other opinions and

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