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What do you mean by "punish minority views"? An important component of the classical notion of "state" power is that the government has a monopoly on the use of
by gwright 7y ago
What do you mean by "punish minority views"? An important component of the classical notion of "state" power is that the government has a monopoly on the use of force. When coupled with the limits to the power of the majority (i.e. individual rights and limited government), holders of minority views should be protected from "punishment" that involves any use of force related to their protected rights.
- harimau777 7y agoThings like losing a job, being excluded from community organizations, or just generally shunned by society. While things like gender, sex, race, and religion are often protected; things like political views, worldview, and way of life generally are not.
- gwright 7y agoThat just sounds like normal consequences. I don't think it is reasonable to think that the government is going to protect you from the private-actor consequences of your "political views, worldview, and way of life". To do so would require the government to become an arbiter of those things, which would be antithetical to the protection of individual rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of association, and in general individual liberty.