Free speech benefits the poor the most
A fascinating paper from MOTU and VUW where they use global datasets to try and establish who places the most priority on free speech, and who benefits the most from it. Their conclusions:
Our results indicate that, within countries, individuals with lower income and lower education levels benefit most from free speech. These results support the hypothesis (HA2) that free speech has an empowerment effect for those with fewer resources in society. However, when asked to prioritize free speech amongst a number of options, we see the reverse result: people with greater resources are more likely to prioritize free speech highly (consistent with hypothesis HA1).
These two results are not necessarily incompatible. People with fewer resources may need to prioritize basic needs more than “luxuries” such as free speech; for instance, one of the options presented to respondents when undertaking their prioritization is “fighting rising prices” which is likely to be more important for those on low incomes. Thus, consistent with Maslow’s hierarchy, free speech acts as a luxury good when individuals are asked to rank it alongside other factors that may affect their wellbeing. Just because poorer people prioritize more immediate needs does not, however, mean that they benefit less from free speech. Free speech offers the poor and the marginalized a greater opportunity to voice their concerns publicly and to influence decisions. Thus, while it is not their top priority when making ends meet, they may still gain greater benefit than do more prosperous groups from having free speech.
Worth remembering that when some people go on about free speech being over-rated etc.