If we do not believe in freedom of speech for those we despise we do not believe in it at all.

The line is widely attributed to Noam Chomsky in connection with debates over civil liberties and the principle of viewpoint-neutral free speech—especially controversies about defending the speech rights of politically extreme or socially reviled groups. It is commonly linked to Chomsky’s public arguments in the late 20th century that free expression is only meaningful if it protects unpopular ideas, not merely speech that a majority finds acceptable. The quotation often circulates in discussions of censorship, academic freedom, and the limits of toleration, where Chomsky is invoked as a prominent critic of state and institutional restrictions on dissenting or offensive speech.

The statement frames free speech as a principled commitment rather than a selective privilege. If protection is granted only to agreeable or socially approved opinions, it becomes mere endorsement, not freedom. The quote insists that the real test of a society’s (or an individual’s) dedication to expressive liberty is whether it tolerates speech that provokes disgust, anger, or fear. It also implies that censorship justified against “despised” groups tends to expand, because the power to suppress speech rarely remains narrowly confined. In this way, the line functions as both a moral claim about consistency and a political warning about the dangers of discretionary suppression.

1) “If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.”
2) “If we don’t believe in freedom of speech for those we disagree with, we don’t believe in it at all.”
3) “If we don’t believe in free speech for the people we hate, we don’t believe in it at all.”