Noah Feldman, Columnist

Israel-Hamas War Tests Left's Views on Cancel Culture

Yes, you can lose your job for voicing an unpopular view. That’s not a violation of the First Amendment.

October 25, 2023 at 12:30 PM UTC

Noah Feldman is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. A professor of law at Harvard University, he is author, most recently, of “To Be a Jew Today: A New Guide to God, Israel, and the Jewish People."

Risking cancellation.
Photographer: Joseph Prezioso/AFP/Getty Images

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Most people seem to think that free speech means saying whatever you want without consequences. But that’s never been true — at least, legally speaking. The First Amendment stops the government from punishing you for your opinions. Beyond that, you’re on your own.

Some institutions, like universities, promise their members they won’t be punished for free expression. But for-profit employers rarely promise to protect employees’ speech, for market-oriented reasons. Because companies care about what customers and clients think, they typically reserve the authority to make workers comply with their preferred speech policies.