Free Speech and Political Stagflation

Gregory P. Magarian, Washington University in St. Louis School of Law

Abstract

The Supreme Court’s First Amendment decisions make a system of canals for the flow of public discussion. The Court under Chief Justice John Roberts has spent the past decade letting big expressive tankers clog up those canals. The Roberts Court’s First Amendment has strengthened powerful institutions’ dominance of public debate while letting the government squelch dissenters who might challenge dominant ideas. We can trace many aspects of political stagflation right to the Court’s marble steps.