Freedom of Speech by Bentham

In my opinion, people should be allowed to say whatever they want. Freedom of speech is a right everyone has and it is part of the liberty one has as a human being. Therefore the government cannot censor people about what they can and cannot say. I once said that liberty is good because it is pleasant and brings pleasure, whilst the restriction of liberty is painful and therefore bad. Law also restricts liberty and is also bad and painful. Everyone should have the liberty to say and to publish whatever they want. Any government who tries to impose a censure on what can be said is doing wrong and is unethical. Liberty cannot be denied to anyone. Freedom of speech is never unethical. People often have new ideas that may seem odd, unfamiliar and inappropriate but these ideas could actually be very helpful and interesting if one took the time to analyze them. People should not conform into doing whatever a government tells them to do. On the other hand, they have all the liberty to express themselves and this could in many cases lead to finding the truth. All liberty brings pleasure and therefore liberty of speech is also good because it brings pleasure and no pain. Sometimes allowing somebody to express himself in times of oppression might indeed bring good to the greatest number of people. This would be marvelous and would prove that everyone has the ability to think and be entitled to his or her own ideas. Freedom of speech is therefore always ethical and should be allowed as a part of our liberty as humans. Censorship is unethical because everyone has the right to express what he or she wants. Jeremy Bentham (Alex Kawas)