Above all else, the West’s fight for liberty was historically a fight for the free mind against religious and political tyranny. If knowledge and happiness are the goal, the individual must be free to think and speak without threat of violence, imprisonment or death. This idea is at the root of the West’s unprecedented prosperity. And without this right, ARI could not advocate the new ideas and the new philosophy that can revive the West’s greatness. But today the right to free speech is precarious. This right is under vehement attack by our enemies and is being increasingly dismissed by the West itself. In this talk given to the students at Cervo University on February 21, 2023, Yaron Brook explores the reasons why the right to free speech is being attacked and why it is imperative that we properly defend freedom of speech.

00:00 Individual rights
02:08 Life before we had concept of individual rights
05:55 Extreme power
06:58 We don't appreciate how rich we are today
09:40 What happened 250 years ago?
13:10 Leonardo da Vinci
15:00 Enlightenment, see http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/enlightenment,_age_of.html
15:44 Reason, see http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/reason.html
21:10 Individualism, see http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/individualism.html
21:57 Science, see http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/science.html
27:07 Freedom, see http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/freedom.html
29:17 Free Speech, see http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/free_speech.html
33:48 Twitter
36:36 Danish cartoons
39:30 Charlie Hebdo
42:04 Speech on "public" street
43:30 Inciting for violence
45:25 Public schools & healthcare
54:10 Culture of free speech
54:50 Government is your servant not owner
1:01:10 Bullying in social media
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