Potential Tension Between a Free Marketplace of Ideas and the Fundamental Purpose of Free Speech

The authors argue that the marketplace of ideas is not competitive in the economic sense. Yet the Court often rules as if it is. What are the implications?By assuming often that the idea market is competitive, Justices are committing the reification fallacy. They are treating an abstract belief or hypothetical construct as if it represented a concrete event or physical entity. In this instance, the Justices assume that existing markets are structured the same way idealized competitive markets are. In doing so, they treat the marketplace of ideas as inherently good, when in fact one must first determine what structure actually exists

The Potential Tension Between a Free Marketplace of Ideas and the Fundamental Purpose of Free Speech

The authors argue that the marketplace of ideas is not competitive in the economic sense. Yet the Court often rules as if it is. What are the implications? By assuming often that the idea market is competitive, Justices are committing the reification fallacy. They are treating an abstract belief or hypothetical construct as if it represented a concrete event or physical entity. In this instance, the Justices assume that existing markets are structured the same way idealized competitive markets are. In doing so, they treat the marketplace of ideas as inherently good, when in fact one must first determine what structure actually exists. By committing the reification fallacy, here meaning assuming existing markets are competitive, the Court is thereby affirming the existing structure as socially legitimate. By assuming competition, the Court does not then need to call for any change to the existing market. If the Court assumed the existing idea marketplace was monopolistic, where one voice had significant market power, the Court would likely call for more restrictions and oversight of this market. If the market is competitive, however, no changes are needed and legislators and courts would do better to keep their hands off as the Court has traditionally done. The goal of regulation is to make sure all ideas are heard that are necessary for self-government (as Meiklejohn says that “everything worth saying shall be said”), but that nobody dominates the debate through resource advantages. Meiklejohn uses a town-meeting metaphor where the government plays the role of moderator. Under this role as moderator, the government “may prevent some participants from dominating the deliberation . . . but it may not decide which ideas are acceptable or unacceptable.” The procedural protections may be necessary to insure fair access and maintain equal opportunity for the broad range of substantive points among speakers. Paradoxically, the very benefits often touted by those resisting regulation of speech in non-competitive markets are rarely realized because of the structural flaws in the extant market for ideas. When the Court relies on the laissez-faire approach to the First Amendment, the marketplace metaphor is ideological as opposed to utopian. The marketplace metaphor acts as a cleansing device, a soothing agent, one that helps citizens swallow, digest, and accept the end product of the “competition” of ideas to stabilize, rather than challenge, the existing order. Without a careful consideration of the actual structure of the marketplace of ideas, the Supreme Court is failing to make first Amendment rulings in favor of the democratic, truth-oriented interest of the demos, and may instead be serving, protecting, and entrenching the interests of the few

The Unfortunate Role of Farm Subsidies as a Stimulus for Inequality and Obesity

Governmental expenditures are directed at a particular objective, but their effects have consequences far beyond the named target of the expenditures. Specific farm subsidies, for example, encourage consumption of particular foods by reducing the costs of producing these foods. To what extent do these subsidies affect the American obesity epidemic? How do the subsidies create disparate negative effects on those in poverty? Exploring these questions stimulates us to take greater care when designing legislation to take a broader look at the stakeholders affected by any particular governmental expenditure

Commercializing Children: Laws and Regulations Affecting Advertisements Directed at Children in France, Spain, and Sweden

From a financial perspective there may be no better investment, or more sensible target for advertising than one directed at the interests of children. This focus is perfectly understandable for a firm aiming to maintain a continually expanding and predictable source of profit. What children lack in spending power compared to other age groups, they make up for in potential longevity to consume, as well as their sheer amount of exposure to such advertising outlets, not only in hours spent, but in the various forms of technology to which they are regularly exposed. Children have an uncanny ability to mold the financial choices of their parents from the relatively minuscule purchase of a small toy or candy bar they had seen on television, to suggesting vacation destinations that can cost in the thousands. In many nations, including the United States, firms have interpreted the recognition of the growing influence of children on markets as justification to target them in their advertising campaigns

The Mouse Gastrointestinal Bacteria Catalogue enables translation between the mouse and human gut microbiotas via functional mapping.

Funder: Royal SocietyHuman health and disease have increasingly been shown to be impacted by the gut microbiota, and mouse models are essential for investigating these effects. However, the compositions of human and mouse gut microbiotas are distinct, limiting translation of microbiota research between these hosts. To address this, we constructed the Mouse Gastrointestinal Bacteria Catalogue (MGBC), a repository of 26,640 high-quality mouse microbiota-derived bacterial genomes. This catalog enables species-level analyses for mapping functions of interest and identifying functionally equivalent taxa between the microbiotas of humans and mice. We have complemented this with a publicly deposited collection of 223 bacterial isolates, including 62 previously uncultured species, to facilitate experimental investigation of individual commensal bacteria functions in vitro and in vivo. Together, these resources provide the ability to identify and test functionally equivalent members of the host-specific gut microbiotas of humans and mice and support the informed use of mouse models in human microbiota research.Sir Henry Dale Fellowship jointly funded by Wellcome Trust and Royal Society [206245/Z/17/Z]. Rosetrees Trust [A2194]. Wellcome Trust [098051]

Polymorphous adenocarcinoma of the salivary glands : reappraisal and update

Although relatively rare, polymorphous adenocarcinoma (PAC) is likely the second most common malignancy of the minor salivary glands (MiSG). The diagnosis is mainly based on an incisional biopsy. The optimal treatment comprises wide surgical excision, often with adjuvant radiotherapy. In general, PAC has a good prognosis. Previously, PAC was referred to as polymorphous low-grade adenocarcinoma (PLGA), but the new WHO classification of salivary gland tumours has also included under the PAC subheading, the so-called cribriform adenocarcinoma of minor salivary glands (CAMSG). This approach raised controversy, predominantly because of possible differences in clinical behaviour. For example, PLGA (PAC, classical variant) only rarely metastasizes, whereas CAMSG often shows metastases to the neck lymph nodes. Given the controversy, this review reappraises the definition, epidemiology, clinical presentation, diagnostic work-up, genetics, treatment modalities, and prognosis of PAC of the salivary glands with a particular focus on contrasting differences with CAMSG.Peer reviewe