The marketplaces of ideas and commerce are becoming inseparable as a consequence of the technology economy, with its premium on innovation and entrepreneurship. This means that the intellectual and material benefits of stronger global protections for speech, whether achieved through national laws or global conventions, will be enormous. When the number of people around the world who are engaged in the marketplace of ideas increases, we can expect a corresponding rise in the flow of innovation in both the academy and the economy. At Twitter, Macgillivray has been a modern crusader for this truth.
Politically, the surest way to ward off the spread of authoritarianism is to safeguard the public expression of diverse opinion and the democratic social interactions that result. The habit of open debate works as an antidote to the intolerance and fear that in too many parts of the world continue to support official policies of misogyny, as antiquated as they are repellant. Above all, the individuals selected as Foreign Policy's Global Thinkers share a profound insistence on speaking for themselves, listening to others, and changing the minds of opponents -- sometimes even their own (see No. 10). In this, they are the true faces of modernity.
Third, our legal tools for safeguarding free speech need to evolve to protect this way of life. The practical demands of the commercial marketplace and the prerogatives of economic integration suggest this can happen. This, in fact, is exactly why the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, at the urging of America's leading digital businesses and other affected industries, has filed a formal inquiry with the World Trade Organization to address China's Internet censorship, the first time any country has made such a request through the WTO. Casting the need for sharing knowledge in this light, and then moving beyond the economic agenda to concerns about human rights and civil society, is likely to be more productive than a frontal campaign put solely in terms of values.
Winning may take time. Consider the lengthy constitutional and cultural journey traveled in the United States since the early part of the 20th century. The starting place was the First Amendment, yet only after several decades did Americans come to appreciate not simply the value of this liberty as it pertains to the individual, but also the benefits of building a tolerant society. In the course of America's ongoing experiment with virtually unrestricted expression, the country has tacked between more and less protection for speech while moving steadily over time in the direction of openness.
There is no reason to expect that the world will move more quickly or more cleanly to develop a global public forum. But with historic forces working to drive us in that direction and exceptional individuals like Foreign Policy's Global Thinkers committed to the cause, the eventual outcome is not in doubt.
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