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>Less well known is the paradox of tolerance: Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those wh
by jon_richards 9y ago
>Less well known is the paradox of tolerance: Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them. — In this formulation, I do not imply, for instance, that we should always suppress the utterance of intolerant philosophies; as long as we can counter them by rational argument and keep them in check by public opinion, suppression would certainly be unwise. But we should claim the right to suppress them if necessary even by force; for it may easily turn out that they are not prepared to meet us on the level of rational argument, but begin by denouncing all argument; they may forbid their followers to listen to rational argument, because it is deceptive, and teach them to answer arguments by the use of their fists or pistols. We should therefore claim, in the name of tolerance, the right not to tolerate the intolerant.
Karl Popper, "The Open Society and Its Enemies", 1945
- melvinmt 9y agoAlso related: The Most Intolerant Wins: The Dictatorship of the Small Minority https://medium.com/incerto/the-most-intolerant-wins-the-dictatorship-of-the-small-minority-3f1f83ce4e15 https://medium.com/incerto/the-most-intolerant-wins-the-dict...
- TheAdamAndChe 9y agoSuppressing ideas perceived to be intolerant by those in power is intolerant itself, though. Who is to decide what is and is not intolerant? A good example of this is immigration reform in the US. Many people consider deporting illegal immigrants to be intolerant despite the fact that they would just be enforcing existing US law. Should everyone who wants mass illegal immigrant deportation be suppressed and attacked in the name of tolerance?
- pgorczak 9y agoThat's why he calls it a paradox. IIRC Popper mentions it in the context of the also relevant democratic paradox (a democracy abolishing itself by democratic process).
- beepboopbeep 9y agoYou can advocate for law enforcement without being a frothing animal about it.
- Fnoord 9y agoReminds me of rationale behind GPL versus BSD. Or is that far fetched? Are there other analogies?