John Staurt Mill thought that speech should always be free except when it directly incited a crime. Mill explained what he meant in On Liberty by citing the example of corn dealers, who were widely loathed as profiteers in 19th century Britain.
If agitators claimed that corn dealers starve the poor, the law had no right to punish them, he said. Only if agitators say the same to an angry crowd ready to burn the corn dealer's house down can the state intervene.
Notice that Mill does not say that the law can punish the incitement of hatred against corn dealers – for it is not a crime to hate people, any more than it is to envy them or lust after them. Free speech is such an essential right, the state can only silence speakers who rouse violent mobs. [TheJC.com] Read more
