Rights Pluralism

Chapter 8 is both a summary of the book’s findings concerning the intersections between freedom of speech and non-speech rights and a defense of a conception of our system of rights—Rights Pluralism. The chapter describes the concept of Rights Pluralism and explains its relationship to constitutional democracy. The central premise is that liberty is most secure when governments are subject to multiple, independent, and robust constitutional checks. As the book demonstrates, the Free Speech Clause performs critical functions with respect to Rights Pluralism, including facilitating the recognition and exercise of non-speech constitutional rights and mediating discourse about rights. But as the book has also shown, a magnetic and perpetually expanding Free Speech Clause can also have detrimental effects on the premise and reality of the Constitution’s system of rights. We must recognize, exercise, and defend both freedom of speech and non-speech rights with equal vigor. The chapter suggests an agenda that will support Rights Pluralism.