• The right to individual liberty is the foundation of Western civilization; without it, Western culture ceases to exist
  • Individual liberties, such as the right to produce and consume ideas, are under assault in the West by tyrannical organizations
  • Defenders of individual liberties must stand up and be counted or risk further suppression

Individual Liberty

The supremacy of the individual over the group is the greatest philosophical achievement of the Enlightenment. Since the dawn of the Age of Reason, protecting the sanctity of the individual has allowed rapid advancements in culture, the economy, and technology. Unfortunately, many Westerners alive today have rejected the sovereignty of the individual in the pursuit of social justice.

The idea that there is a common good to be pursued for the benefit of all or a specific demographic group is a fallacy. People do not experience life collectively; we do so as individuals. Public policies incompatible with protecting individual liberty are, by definition, tyrannical in nature. As the philosopher Ayn Rand stated, “The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities.”

Authoritarianism Abroad

Throughout the West, individual rights, such as the right to produce and consume ideas, are under siege by authoritarian regimes.

In the United Kingdom, the government established “buffer zones” in 2023 near abortion clinics to eliminate freedom of expression. As a result, multiple citizens (including a priest) have been arrested for praying near the clinics.

This August, in response to protests against immigrant violence, the UK government stated on X, “Think before you post! Content that incites violence or hatred isn’t just harmful — it can be illegal.” Multiple indigenous British citizens who made anti-immigrant posts on social media have been arrested and sentenced to months in prison.

In Germany, the government has followed the UK’s lead and implemented “censorship zones” this year around abortion facilities to restrict free speech. Furthermore, German authorities are currently investigating a social media user for calling a member of the parliament fat. The penalty for the “crime” could be up to one year in prison.

In France last month, prosecutors arrested the CEO of Telegram, a social media app, for failing to assist authorities in intercepting communications on the platform.

Of late, Brazil banned access to X and threatened to arrest a company representative due to the organization’s refusal to censor. In response, Elon Musk stated that the Brazilian government is “shutting down the #1 source of truth in Brazil.” Brazil also fined Telegram in 2023 for refusing to suspend the accounts of supporters of the country’s former president.

Authoritarianism at Home

In the United States, authoritarian groups have attempted to ban free speech on social media, block candidates from being on election ballots, throw candidates in prison, and censor citizens’ access to information.

Mark Zuckerberg recently accused the Biden administration of aggressively pressuring him to suppress certain stories and opinions on Meta during the pandemic. Zuckerberg admitted he regretted caving in to the government and pledged to push back against future demands to suppress speech.

Colorado, Illinois, and Maine unsuccessfully attempted to disqualify former president Donald Trump from appearing on their 2024 primary ballots. Furthermore, a reporter suggested to the Biden administration in August that it should have a role in censoring Musk’s interview with Trump on X.

Unfortunately, in North Carolina, there is also a rising threat to individual liberty. In 2023, 45 percent of students surveyed at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill stated that it is acceptable to use violence to stop a campus speech. The Tar Heel students’ support of violence as a mechanism to suppress speech ranked UNC–Chapel Hill second highest among 254 universities surveyed in the nation. Furthermore, this year the State Board of Elections in North Carolina made a concerted effort to prevent Robert F. Kennedy and Cornel West from appearing on the presidential ballot, which would have denied voters choice.

Stand Up and Be Counted

There is an increasing belief among Americans and North Carolinians that certain ideas are too dangerous for civil society. Ironically, this idea is the most dangerous of all. Without the liberty to exchange ideas, a society ceases to be free. If the government restricts the supply of ideas, people become incentivized to communicate their beliefs through other, usually less civil means. Proponents of the “ideas are dangerous” philosophy want to restrict access to information primarily for two reasons:

  • They know that their ideas are suboptimal, so they restrict the supply of other ideas to increase the value of their agenda
  • They do not believe that people are intelligent enough to distinguish between good and bad ideas, so they deem it necessary to decide for the people

The right to produce and consume ideas must be defended. As novelist and antifascist George Orwell stated, “If large numbers of people believe in freedom of speech, there will be freedom of speech, even if the law forbids it.”

This November, the stakes will be high, nationally and within North Carolina. It will be important to take a stand for individual liberty by electing officials who will defend and not interfere with the marketplace of ideas.

In a message to future generations, Founding Father Benjamin Franklin warned, “Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech.”