The Paradox of Tolerance
A society that tolerates absolutely everything, including those working to end it, does not remain tolerant for long.
19458 min read
American political philosophy
John Rawls
1921 – 2002
Harvard philosopher whose A Theory of Justice (1971) reshaped Anglophone political philosophy. Section 35 of that book addresses the toleration of the intolerant directly, and concludes that a just society should restrict the liberty of intolerant sects only when the tolerant sincerely and with reason believe their own security is genuinely in danger.