If you’re a leftist who believes in free speech you aren’t homeless
Free speech is a fundamental value of the left.
FEATURED ARTICLES
Dov and Willy talking – perspectives from the left on political violence, history, colonialism, imperialism, racism, antisemitism, social media and the importance of critical thinking and debate
Dov Osheroff and Willy Maley: perespectives from the left on political violence, history, colonialism, imperialism, racism, antisemitism, social media and the importance of critical thinking and debate
Participants:
Willy Maley
Dov Osheroff
Moderator:
Mark White
Preview next week’s Free Speech and the Left conference
View this 5 minute preview of next week’s Free Speech and the Left conference
Our panelists discuss censorship, cancel culture, identity politics, the relevance of today’s left and other issues during the upcoming Free Speech and the Left conference.
The online event will take place June 17 to 24 and feature authors, academics, journalists and activists from a dozen countries. The conference will consist of pre-recorded presentations, panel discussions and livestream segments.
Participants include Nadine Strossen, Richard Wolff, Freddie deBoer, Noam Chomsky, Jill Stein, Susan Neiman, Tara Henley, Paul Jay, Jacob Mchangama, Norman Finkelstein, Wayne Hsiung, Katherine Corcoran, Ioan Grillo, Matthew Hoh, Lawrence Wilkerson and others…
Co-hosted by Plebity, India & Global Left, Redline, and acTVism Munich, the conference will be broadcast on Plebity’s YouTube channel.
The full list of panels and conference schedule can be found here: https://www.plebity.org/conference-2023-free-speech-and-the-left/.
Noam Chomsky on What Defines the Left and on the Principle of Free Speech
Panelists: Noam Chomsky
Moderator: Mark White
Description: Noam Chomsky offers his thoughts on what defines the left and on the enduring principle of free speech. Noam Chomsky is a longtime scholar, author, teacher, intellectual, activist and social critic.
Noam Chomsky is a longtime scholar, author, teacher, intellectual, activist and social critic.
recent ARTICLES
Media ownership, censorship and hate speech laws – with Paul Jay and Freddie deBoer
Panelists: Paul Jay, Freddie deBoer
Moderator: Jyotishman Mudiar
Description: A discussion about independent media and ownership, censorship, self-censorship in media AND a discussion about hate speech laws.
Paul Jay is an independent journalist and documentary filmmaker. He is the founder, editor-in-chief, and host of theAnalysis.news - a site of political commentary and interviews. He is currently working on a documentary entitled series with Daniel Ellsberg titled “How to Stop a Nuclear War” which is based on Ellsberg’s book, “The Doomsday Machine.”
Freddie deBoer is an independent journalist based in Brooklyn, New York. He’s the author of The Cult of Smart: How Our Broken Education System Perpetuates Social Injustice and his newest book is How Elites Ate the Social Justice Movement. Freddie is a self-styled old-school Marxist and writes regularly on his Substack about politics, Marxism, education, police reform and other topics.
Jyotishman Mudiar is a co-founder of the YouTube podcast India & Global Left (IGL).
Is the Left Still Relevant?: A Conversation with Professors Clara Mattei and Rick Wolff
Panelists: Clara Mattei, Rick Wolff
Moderator: Daphna Whitmore
Description: Economics professors Clara Matttei and Rick Wolff discuss the relevancy of the left in today's context.
Rick Wolff is Professor of Economics Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a visiting professor at the New School University in New York City. He's the founder of Democracy at Work, the host of the nationally syndicated show Economic Update and author of numerous books on Marxism and socialism.
Professor Clara Mattei is Assistant Professor in the Economics Department of the New School for Social Research. She is the author of the book Capital Order, How Economists Invented Austerity and Paved the Way to Fascism.
Daphna Whitmore writes for the site Redline and resides in Auckland, New Zealand.
Noam Chomsky on What Defines the Left and on the Principle of Free Speech
Panelists: Noam Chomsky
Moderator: Mark White
Description: Noam Chomsky offers his thoughts on what defines the left and on the enduring principle of free speech. Noam Chomsky is a longtime scholar, author, teacher, intellectual, activist and social critic.
Noam Chomsky is a longtime scholar, author, teacher, intellectual, activist and social critic.
Personal experiences and thoughts on identity politics, cancel culture and free speech
Moderator: Tara Henley
Panelists: Amna Khalid, Jeff Snyder
Description: Tara Henley leads a discussion with Professors Amna Khalid and Jeff Snyder on their personal thoughts and experiences with identify politics, cancel culture and free speech.
Tara Henley is a Canadian writer and podcaster, and the author of the national bestseller Lean Out: A Meditation on the Madness of Modern Life. Over the past two decades, her work has appeared on CBC Radio and TV, and in dozens of newspapers and magazines across the country and around the world.
Amna Khalid is a history professor at Carleton College and writer on her substack Banished.
Jeff Snyder is a history professor at Carleton College with a strong interest in the issues of academic freedom and free speech.
Nadine Strossen: Conference Keynote
Nadine Strossen reviews the history and importance of free speech as she welcomes participants and viewers of Plebity's Free Speech and the Left conference.
Nadine Strossen is past president of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU),1991-2017. She is Professor of Law Emerita at New York Law School, Senior Fellow of FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression) and author of the book HATE: Why We Should Resist it With Free Speech, Not Censorship. Her latest book is: Free Speech: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford University Press fall 2023)
Canada’s censorship bill becomes law
After years of contentious debates, Bill C-11, Canada’s Online Streaming Act has become law.
As we’ve written here (Senate Passes Controversial Internet Censorship Bill) and here (Canada’s Plans to Regulate the Internet), this bill poses many dangers for Canadian users and creators alike.
The woke left is to left as ersatz coffee is to coffee
One of the hallmarks of today’s woke left is to conflate speech with violence. Fearful of the ‘harm’ that might be experienced from hearing certain words, the woke left has become widely confused about the issue of free speech in general and between speech and literal, physical violence.
In New Zealand this week, Posie Parker was assaulted as she tried to speak–a mob surrounded her and forced her off the stage and ultimately out of the country. The group that prevented her from speaking has taken to social media to declare a great victory.
The why and what of our Free Speech and the Left virtual conference
Momentum is building for our Free Speech and the Left virtual conference scheduled for June, 2023.
The conference participants include some of today’s most interesting voices, coming together to discuss the most divisive issues of the day.
We’re in active collaboration with the New Zealand site Redline, India & the Global Left and acTVism Munich.
What is the left?
Panelists will consider whether leftist thought offers relevant and useful ways of thinking about capitalism and exploitation, empire and forever wars, cancel culture and identity politics, environmental destruction and degrowth, social justice and universalism, animal rights and morality, and of course free speech.
Daughter of Spanish Civil War veteran speaks out about identity politics
“I couldn’t be myself,” or words to that effect: It was written in pencil on a piece of scrap foolscap I found amongst my father‘s papers after he died in 1982. He wrote that sentiment in 1977 when he was working on his memoir. My father’s name was Jim Higgins, and his book is called Fighting for Democracy: a Canadian Activist in Spain’s Civil War. It was not published until 2020.