Philosophical Ruminations

Ideas matter. Constitutional jurisprudence decisions reflect overarching intellectual trends in society. The Buckley Constitution reflects the influence of modern individualistic libertarianism in contemporary American society. Some prominent authors have glimpsed more inclusive approaches to free speech. For example, renowned First Amendment theorist Alexander Meiklejohn sought to illustrate an inclusive approach to freedom of speech in his timeless metaphor of a town meeting. This chapter begins by outlining several wrong turns that the campaign finance cases have taken which render an inclusive approach impossible. One involves equating spending money with speaking. Spending money to speak is at most a combination of speech and action. Moreover, monetary limitations on political campaigning are similar to content neutral time, place, and manner restrictions. Some authors concerned with the distribution of speech rights have overtly offered a more egalitarian free speech approach. They include Jürgen Habermas, Bruce Ackerman, and Ronald Dworkin.