This essay was written by Lower Sixth Form student Marcus Perkins for submission to the prestigious, national Karen Becher Essay Competition 2025, run by the National Holocaust Museum, which he went on to win. A full copy of the essay can be found below. A brief extract is included here:
Communities are fragile concepts (Bauman, 2000). Most people struggle to identify a physical community they belong to, yet historically, they have been essential for trust and societal efficacy (Anderson, 2010). The Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford University Press, 2024) defines ‘community’ in several ways, including groups based on geography, identity, and common interests. This essay will consider all three when exploring whether free speech helps build and sustain communities or undermines them to the point of dissolution.
The Unchained Library 