In a totalitarian or authoritarian dictatorship, government officials do not need the support of the citizenry to exterminate freedom of speech. That’s because there are no elections to worry about. The regime simply starts having its military and paramilitary goons start arresting critics, disappearing them in terrorist confinement facilities, torturing them, and then killing them. Everyone else understands. No more criticism of the regime.
In a democratic system, suppressing criticism is much more difficult owing to the problem of elections. If the goons of some democratically elected president begin rounding up critics, incarcerating them, torturing them, and killing them, the ruler runs the risk of being kicked out of office in the next election. There is also the risk of impeachment.
Thus, in a democracy rulers must figure out sophisticated and oftentimes devious ways to seduce or induce people to go along with the destruction of freedom of speech.
The United States was founded on the principle of freedom of speech. The Constitution, which called into existence a government of limited powers, did not delegate to the federal government the power to suppress criticism or to infringe on the natural, God-given right of freedom of speech. Thus, even without the First Amendment, freedom of speech would have still be legally immune from any attempt to suppress or destroy it.
But just to make the matter clear, our ancestors demanded the enactment of the First Amendment. It prohibits the federal government from doing anything to infringe on, regulate, or destroy freedom of speech.
Why did our ancestors deem it wise and even necessary to enact the First Amendment? Because they were smart people. They knew that all rulers hate criticism and love praise. They also knew that rulers would inevitably adopt measures intended to infringe, control, or destroy free speech.
Now, it’s true that no one in the United States is being jailed for speaking out against the government. Indeed, there are plenty of libertarian educational foundations and libertarian think tanks that regularly speak out against federal government wrongdoing. None of us is in jail. But does that mean that there is freedom of speech in this nation?
Actually not. Federal officials have long designed sophisticated ways to suppress speech in wide sectors of American society, such as the business, educational, banking, medical, and even the mainstream-media sectors. These sophisticated ways involve the regulated economy and the dole society that the Franklin Roosevelt administration brought into existence in the 1930s.
President Trump’s rhetoric and actions are perhaps bringing some of these sophisticated suppression devices into the light of the day. Consider, for example, his former ally Elon Musk. Musk has come out publicly against Trump’s “big beautiful bill,” which Musk points out is continuing the out-of-control federal spending and debt that is threatening to take down our country from within. Musk called the bill a “massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill” and “a disgusting abomination.”
That’s a classic exercise of freedom of speech. But what is Trump’s reaction? He is threatening Musk with a cut-off of federal contracts. His “big beautiful bill” also eliminates some tax benefits for Musk’s Tesla automobiles. He also saying that he might have to “put DOGE on Musk… DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon.” He has even suggested the possibility of deporting Musk.
In other words, Trump is threatening to employ the power of the federal government to destroy or severely harm an American citizen. And for what? For simply speaking out against Trump’s spending and debt bill.
And make no mistake about it. Every business person in the country knows that every president wields the power to destroy him. For one thing, many businesses are so dependent on the federal dole, either through subsidies or federal contracts, that they cannot imagine losing the dole. The last thing they are going to do is publicly take on what the president does, as Musk is doing. Watching Trump’s threats against Musk, they know what awaits them if they do the same. Most of them will remain silent on anything any president does, especially in foreign affairs.
Consider those big, powerful law firms that have capitulated to Trump’s demands. Why did they do that? One big reason may have been the fear of losing contracts or other business that they have with the federal government.
Consider all the universities that are agreeing to run their schools in accordance with Trump’s demands. Why are they doing that? Because long ago, U.S. officials induced them to go on dole. They are now so dependent on the dole that they will do anything to avoid losing it.
It’s not just the dole system though. It’s also the regulated-economy system that FDR foisted on American economic system. The federal government wields the power to destroy businesses simply through the power of regulation.
A perfect example of this phenomenon is the banking sector. Every bank president in America knows that federal inspectors wield the power to shut down banks by easily finding violations of minute banking regulations. That’s why one never finds one single bank president anywhere in the country ever taking on any president in a public way, in the manner that Musk is doing.
Consider the $16 million settlement that Paramount is entering into with Trump over an edited interview video that its subsidiary CBS did with Kamala Harris. Why is Paramount agreeing to make that payment to Trump? One possibility is that Paramount is in merger talks with another company. Under America’s regulated-economy system, the federal government has to approve the merger. Thus, it’s entirely possible that Paramount is agreeing to settle the case with Trump to ensure that the feds don’t block its merger.
It’s this way all across the board. This is why one rarely sees the CEOs of universities, big corporations, banks, medical companies, and other establishments criticizing the policies of the federal government. The dole system and the regulated-economy system are very sophisticated devices that have succeeded in silencing them. They don’t dare to exercise freedom of speech, no matter what the First Amendment says.
Reprinted with permission from Future of Freedom Foundation.
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