The origins of this theory lie in the beliefs of eminent
philosophers such as Lao Tze, John Locke, and writers, John Milton and John
Stuart Mill.
Milton wrote in ‘Aeropagitica’ in 1644 ‘let truth and
falsehood grapple’, recommending free expression. This idea was adopted by the
French in 1789 when in their ‘Declaration of the Rights of Man’ they wrote, “Every
citizen may speak, write and publish freely’.
The propounders of this theory believed that the press
should be allowed to function independently. They advocated freedom of press because
that meant championing property ownership rights. Thus, by supporting the idea
of a free press, media owners were furthering their own interests. This theory
did not set a limit to the freedom of press nor did it specify as to who actually
should benefit from it – proprietor or journalists.
The theory has at its center the rights given to
individuals as their birthright which include the right to freedom of
expression. The development of printing technology especially the movable metal
type in the seventeenth century enabled man to spread the written word far and
wide at a much cheaper cost. This led to information reaching the common man
who had until then been kept away from it by the prohibitive cost that was
involved in duplicating documents. The theory exposed the cause of the public
as against that of the state which prevented the masses from sharing views and
beliefs. The proponents of this theory believed that ‘vox populi’ (voice of
people) was superior to a government invoice or authority,
Libertarians advocated the press as the ‘fourth estate’ which
as a ‘free marketplace of ideas’ where ideas could be sold or bough without
anybody’s interference, not even that of society.
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