Over the past few weeks the literary and journalistic scene has exploded in discussion or, if we are really being honest, diatribe about free speech, open debate and the limits of discourse. This has been spurred on by the publication of an open letter in Harper's magazine signed by notable writers and academics against what they describe as the spread of "intolerance of opposing views, a vogue for public shaming and ostracism, and the tendency to dissolve complex
