Since the turn of the century, U.S. constitutional guarantees of economic freedom have been eroding. A combination of government, businesses, and social media firms have recently placed serious limits on individual freedom of speech and actions. The result has hastened the denigration of U.S. economic freedom.
The Washington, D.C.-based Heritage Foundation publishes measures of economic freedom for most countries in the world. These designations are based on classical economic principles. These principles measure the extent governments follow the rule of law; control spending, taxes and debt; permit free markets to operate; and provide a stable currency.
Historically, the United States has been in the top three of all nations with scores in the mid-80s. No more. The latest Heritage U.S. economic freedom score is down to 70.6 out of 100. This ranks the United States as only the twenty-fifth freest economy in the world for the year ended July 2022.
(Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury / Bureau of Labor Statistics / Haver Analytics / Classicalprinciples.com)
This decline in economic freedom is due to the major increase of the power and control of the federal government. Dramatic increases in federal spending, debt and government control over key areas such as natural resources, electricity, and auto production are unprecedented in a peacetime economy.
The increase in government power had the full cooperation of many individuals, businesses, and social media companies. One key, recent development has been the expansion of government censorship and silencing of certain individuals’ speech and actions. Opinions counter to those of government have been removed from social media and canceled. The economic damage from restricting the open discourse of ideas has been immeasurable.
Government-sanctioned COVID treatments, such as going home and waiting for the symptoms to subside, were clearly wrong. They increased the death rate from a disease that could be better controlled with early treatment. News of potential harmful effects from the vaccines was not widely disseminated.
Doctors, who were highly effective in treating COVID patients, were censored from social media and even penalized for prescribing their successful treatments. Doctors who opposed government dictates faced suspension of hospital privileges or worse.
How did the U.S. government get such extensive control over the economy and over public discourse? Recent court decisions explain how this occurred.
In essence, the court ruled that government cannot force individuals to use their creative talents to produce something inconsistent with their strongly held beliefs.
“If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation … it is the principle that the government may not interfere with an uninhibited marketplace of ideas ... the First Amendment protects an individual’s right to speak his mind regardless of whether the government considers his speech sensible and well intentioned or deeply ’misguided.'”
“… ARE HEREBY ENJOINED AND RESTRAINED from taking the following actions as to social-media companies: (1) meeting with social-media companies for the purpose of urging, encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech posted on social-media platforms; (2) specifically flagging content or posts on social-media platforms and/or forwarding such to social-media companies urging, encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner for removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech; (3) urging, encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner social-media companies to change their guidelines for removing, deleting, suppressing, or reducing content containing protected free speech; (4) emailing, calling, sending letters, texting, or engaging in any communication of any kind with social-media companies urging, encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner for removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech ….”
This case exposes evidence of an elaborate system of government control over the speech and actions of countless users of social media. Judge Doughty is specifically critical of the government:
“The plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits in establishing that the government has used its power to silence the opposition.” Opposition to COVID-19 vaccines; opposition to COVID-19 masking and lockdowns; opposition to the lab-leak theory of COVID-19; opposition to the validity of the 2020 election; opposition to President Biden’s policies; statements that the Hunter Biden laptop story was true; and opposition to policies of the government officials in power. All were suppressed. It is quite telling that each example or category of suppressed speech was conservative in nature. This targeted suppression of conservative ideas is a perfect example of viewpoint discrimination of political speech. American citizens have the right to engage in free debate about the significant issues affecting the country.
Although this case is still relatively young, and at this stage the court is only examining it in terms of plaintiffs’ likelihood of success on the merits, the evidence produced thus far depicts an almost dystopian scenario. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a period perhaps best characterized by widespread doubt and uncertainty, the U.S. government seems to have assumed a role similar to an Orwellian “Ministry of Truth.”
The heavy hand of government censorship has been a major factor in preventing the role of free speech and debate. Without the free expression of ideas, most U.S. citizens have been exposed only to information sanctioned by government officials. This has limited the free flow of information regarding COVID treatments, the effectiveness and safety of the vaccines, election integrity, corruption of government officials, and other issues critical to maintaining the nation’s economic freedom.
The extent to which government censorship is responsible for the deterioration in U.S. economic freedom may never be known. One thing is certain, though: Without the free flow of information and ideas, economic freedom cannot exist and a democracy cannot function.
By reestablishing fundamental constitutional rights to freedom of speech, ideas, and actions, recent court rulings have taken an essential first step to promoting a balanced debate—one that will determine the extent to which America can restore its historical leadership as one of freest economies in the world.
