{"id":527093,"date":"2025-03-13T09:24:35","date_gmt":"2025-03-13T08:24:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leregardlibre.com\/?p=527093"},"modified":"2025-03-16T11:23:32","modified_gmt":"2025-03-16T10:23:32","slug":"freedom-of-expression-at-the-heart-of-liberty-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leregardlibre.com\/en\/philosophy\/freedom-of-expression-at-the-heart-of-liberty-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Freedom of expression was at the heart of Liberal Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

The limits of free speech, its expression through caricature and the challenges posed by wokism to this fundamental right were themes at the center of the 2025 edition of this annual meeting co-organized by Le Regard Libre<\/em>, held on Saturday.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

No fewer than 70 people accepted the invitation from the Institut lib\u00e9ral, the Cercle d\u00e9mocratique de Lausanne and your favorite monthly magazine, dedicating one day of their weekend to this convivial and intellectual colloquium. This year, the Journ\u00e9e lib\u00e9rale romande welcomed essayist Alain Laurent, contemporary art history professor Phillipe Kaenel and journalist Jonas Follonier, author of The spread of wokism in Switzerland<\/em>, in a hotel in the capital of Vaud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The limits of free speech<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Having come from France despite discovering a shell under the Gare du Nord train station on the eve of his departure, Alain Laurent is astonished at how little he has written about the limits of freedom of expression among liberal thinkers. Since this principle is enshrined in the Declaration of Human Rights, it is difficult to define its limits. On the one hand, insult is forbidden, which Alain Laurent seems to think is a good thing. On the other, \u00abyou can't ban everything that hurts just because it hurts\u00bb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The essayist asserts that it is not only the state that can repress freedom of expression. This is also the case for ideological pressure groups such as Daesh. In France, factions can even use the legal system to exercise censorship by filing a complaint for \u00abhate speech\u00bb. For the philosopher, it is important to fight against restrictions on free expression, as they engender self-censorship via their conscious or unconscious internalization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cartooning and censorship in Switzerland<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Cartoons test the limits of freedom of expression. This is what Philippe Kaenel supports in his presentation. Caricature also enables us to convey reality more faithfully than drawing, by magnifying the relevant features. The lecturer agrees with Jean Huber on the relationship between caricature and drawing, which would be the same as that between light and shadow, both necessary to each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acting on reality, this art form also expressed social theories without necessarily calling into question the structure of society. In the XVth<\/sup> In the 19th century, Martin Luther understood the power of images and used them to his advantage. The pamphleteer Thomas Murner turned images into caricatures to challenge his ideas. A century later, they were still referred to as \u2019outrageous images\u00ab. Today, although public figures may still feel unjustly attacked, they are legally obliged to accept distortions of their portrayal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wokism and prohibitions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It was in defining his subject that Jonas Follonier, author of The spread of wokism in Switzerland<\/em>, begins his closing address. According to Olivier Massin, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Neuch\u00e2tel, wokism - or identity politics - refers to an ideology that defends the following postulates: oppressive relations are omnipresent, they define social identities, and a victim need only call himself a victim in order to be recognized as such.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jonas Follonier notes the presence of this movement in Switzerland. Between inclusive posters and cancelled conferences, the editor-in-chief of Regard Libre<\/em> cites an example of a form used by Radio T\u00e9l\u00e9vision Suisse (RTS) to support a film, with fields to be completed on the gender or religion of team members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n