Cite as: 558 U. S. ____ (2010) 83 Opinion of STEVENS, J. legislatures that have passed laws like §203: to safeguard the integrity, competitiveness, and democratic responsive­ ness of the electoral process. All of the majority’s theoreti­ cal arguments turn on a proposition with undeniable surface appeal but little grounding in evidence or experi­ ence, “that there is no such thing as too much speech,” Austin, 494 U. S., at 695 (SCALIA, J., dissenting)).74 If individuals in our society had infinite free time to listen to and contemplate every last bit of speech uttered by any­ one, anywhere; and if broadcast advertisements had no special ability to influence elections apart from the merits of their arguments (to the extent they make any); and if legislators always operated with nothing less than perfect virtue; then I suppose the majority’s premise would be sound. In the real world, we have seen, corporate domina­ tion of the airwaves prior to an election may decrease the average listener’s exposure to relevant viewpoints, and it may diminish citizens’ willingness and capacity to partici­ pate in the democratic process. None of this is to suggest that corporations can or should be denied an opportunity to participate in election campaigns or in any other public forum (much less that a work of art such as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington may be banned), or to deny that some corporate speech may con­ tribute significantly to public debate. What it shows, however, is that Austin’s “concern about corporate domi­ nation of the political process,” 494 U. S., at 659, reflects more than a concern to protect governmental interests outside of the First Amendment. It also reflects a concern to facilitate First Amendment values by preserving some breathing room around the electoral “marketplace” of ideas, ante, at 19, 34, 38, 52, 54, the marketplace in which the actual people of this Nation determine how they will —————— 74 Of course, no presiding person in a courtroom, legislature, class­ room, polling place, or family dinner would take this hyperbole literally.