When Historical Metaphors Haunt Current Politics – The Case of The “Marketplace of Ideas”

This paper exemplifies a phenomenon at the intersection of political philosophy and the history of ideas: the lasting influence of metaphors from historical thinkers onto current political thought and political practice. I use the example of the “marketplace of ideas”, which, stemming from Milton and Mill, has been influential in US jurisprudences and continues to be evoked in current contexts, e.g. in debates about the regulation of the internet. After tracing some roots of this metaphor, I provide several arguments for why it does not quite work, and can be highly misleading when applied without critical reflection. I then suggest what might be the most benevolent interpretation of this metaphor: what I call a “leagues” conception, in which “truth and falsehood grapple” within carefully designed and delineated competitions in which equally competent individuals meet. Even there, I argue, it is not plausible that something akin to market action – the individual pursuit of maximum profits – is the most promising strategy. This, however, is not the end of the story when it comes to the question of the “free exchange” of ideas. I argue that instead of thinking that the dissemination of falsehoods would contribute to the finding, or strengthening, of truth, as the “marketplace of ideas” metaphor suggests, what is at stake are basic freedoms that need to be protected against abuse. I conclude by summarizing how this perspective throws a different light on the status of falsehoods that are propagated online or offline, which implications for the legitimacy of different forms of regulation. Attention to the use of historical metaphors, and their philosophical criticism, are therefore an important task for political philosophy.