Why does free speech have no martyrs? Answering this simple question isn’t straightforward, so let me take you through the steps of an argument.
First, we need to pause over the word “martyr.” There is a sense in which every religious martyr dies (I use the present tense deliberately) because they are prevented from speaking freely; but they die primarily for their religious faith, not for the principle of free speech, and of course many religious martyrs through the ages (all Jesuits for example) have been opposed to the principle of free speech.
I take it that martyrdom involves a deliberate act of refusing to conform to the demands of others. Thus you can’t accidentally become a martyr. Salman Rushdie bravely defended the principle of free speech after the publication of his Satanic Verses, and has almost paid with his life, but I doubt that he foresaw the possible consequences when he embarked on publication.
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