A Marketplace for Honest Ideas

Khorasanee, Kasim

Abstract

The marketplace of ideas is a colourful metaphor with a long history of being used to argue for freedom of speech. This paper draws on its historical antecedents to begin with an orthodox understanding of the metaphor whereby the absence of substantive regulation is taken to be conducive to the good functioning of both economic markets and public discourse. This anti-regulation reading is then challenged by analysing a series of legal cases showcasing prohibitions on misrepresentation and fraud. These speech regulations are explained by the economics literature on information asymmetry, which illustrates how honesty regulations maintain good market functioning by facilitating credible reliance by market participants on one another's assertions. What is thereby proposed is a re-imagining of the marketplace of ideas metaphor which lends support to honesty regulations in the realm of public speech. One potential analogue for these legal and economic findings is identified in the work of Shiffrin and her arguments for deontological sincerity requirements in the public sphere.

Citation

Khorasanee, K. (2024). A Marketplace for Honest Ideas. Moral Philosophy and Politics, https://doi.org/10.1515/mopp-2023-0093

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 9, 2024
• Online Publication Date: May 27, 2024
• Publication Date: May 27, 2024
• Deposit Date: May 24, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: May 24, 2024
• Journal: Moral Philosophy and Politics
• Print ISSN: 2194-5616
• Electronic ISSN: 2194-5624
• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/mopp-2023-0093
• Keywords: marketplace of ideas; free speech; information asymmetry; economic theory; metaphors
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/35158850
• Additional Information: Received October 23, 2023; accepted April 9, 2024; published online May 27, 2024