Noting that the nature and value of free speech depends on the norms and goals of a society and on that society's appropriate form of government, this paper presents a normative theory of democracy and from that theory formulates a theory of free speech. The first section defines a number of terms used in the paper and clarifies several of the underlying concepts of the theory. The second section of the paper outlines the normative theory of democracy and the theory of free speech based upon it. The final section considers the consequences of that theory in relation to three recent United States Supreme Court decisions concerning free speech. (FL)