Nearly everyone agrees that the protection of free speech is one of the most, perhaps the most, important ingredient in the concept of “democracy,” as that term is conceived in the Western world. It is not the only element within the concept, of course, and it is forced into ceaseless competition with other factors and policies that demand recognition and official protection. Nevertheless, it is possible to predicate a judgment on the degree to which a society is in fact democratic, based on an analysis of the degree to which free speech is there allowed to flourish.