{"product_id":"the-licensing-of-liberty-jonathan-clements-9798267229449","title":"The Licensing of Liberty.: By. Jonathan Clements","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Licensing of Liberty: How Free Speech Became Permission\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eby Jonathan Clements\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor centuries, \"free speech\" was a rallying cry of rebels, reformers, and philosophers. From Athenian \u003ci\u003eparrhesia\u003c\/i\u003e to the First Amendment, it meant the courage to speak truth against power. But in the twenty-first century, the phrase has been hollowed out. What most people call \"free speech\" today is speech on lease - conditional, permitted, licensed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Licensing of Liberty\u003c\/i\u003e, Jonathan Clements traces a sweeping genealogy of expression, showing how language itself has been weaponized to disguise captivity as freedom. He takes readers on a journey from ancient assemblies and medieval inquisitions to modern platforms and algorithms, revealing how corporations, governments, and advertisers quietly transformed liberty into permission.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDrawing from Plato and Aristotle, Augustine and Aquinas, Locke and Voltaire, Orwell and Arendt, this book blends history, philosophy, theology, and political science into a single, urgent argument: until we stop calling conditional speech \"free,\" we will never reclaim genuine liberty.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eProvocative and meticulously argued, \u003ci\u003eThe Licensing of Liberty\u003c\/i\u003e is both warning and roadmap. It calls for honesty in naming, courage in conscience, and new architectures of expression that break free from the velvet cage of algorithmic governance.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor scholars, policymakers, and citizens alike, this book is a challenge: retire the phrase, recover the freedom.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Jonathan Clements\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798267229449\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/26\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 188\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.57lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.43d","brand":"Jonathan Clements","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":49083683766527,"sku":"9798267229449","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-licensing-of-liberty-jonathan-clements-9798267229449","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}