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> A truly tolerant free speech society should be able to tolerate even literal nazi discourse without crumbling. What happens in practice is people get tired of
by manuelabeledo 5y ago
> A truly tolerant free speech society should be able to tolerate even literal nazi discourse without crumbling. What happens in practice is people get tired of debating, decide they're right and start excluding others.
It’s funny how it looks like you are almost sympathizing with nazis. By definition, nazis seek to exclude and maybe exterminate, everyone they don’t agree with, so tolerating them means giving them the right to preach their methods. That’s pretty much the core of Popper’s 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 most 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.”
- matheusmoreira 5y ago> It’s funny how it looks like you are almost sympathizing with nazis. Not really. > By definition, nazis seek to exclude and maybe exterminate, everyone they don’t agree with, so tolerating them means giving them the right to preach their methods. If society can't tolerate their preaching and remain democratic, what does it say about society? About humans and their rationality?
- manuelabeledo 5y ago> If society can't tolerate their preaching and remain democratic, what does it say about society? About humans and their rationality? You could just look back and see by yourself. We don't need to hypothesise about "what could happen", because it already has. Popper himself based his explanation of the paradox of tolerance in the rise of Nazi Germany.
- matheusmoreira 5y agoSo we're supposed to impose truths on everyone whether they like it or not and exclude those who don't accept them? Do you realize that this is not tolerance but authoritarianism?
- manuelabeledo 5y agoWe are supposed to not accept authoritarianism.