The Tolerant Society
by Lee C. Bollinger
40 Members (2.67)
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In The Tolerant Society, Bollinger offers a masterful critique of the major theories of freedom of expression, and offers an alternative explanation. Traditional justifications for protecting extremist speech have turned largely on the inherent value of self-expression, maintaining that the benefits of the free interchange of ideas include the greater likelihood of serving truth and of promoting wise decisions in a democracy. Bollinger finds these theories persuasive but inadequate. show more Buttrressing his argument with references to the Skokie case and many other examples, as well as a careful analysis of the primary literature on free speech, he contends that the real value of toleration of extremist speech lies in the extraordinary self-control toward antisocial behavior that it elicits: society is stengthened by the exercise of tolerance, he maintains. The problem of finding an appropriate response -- especially when emotions make measured response difficult -- is common to all social interaction, Bollinger points out, and there are useful lesons to be learned from withholding punishment even for what is conceded to be bad behavior. show lessTags
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14+ Works 174 Members
Classifications
- Genres
- Politics and Government, Nonfiction, Sociology, Science & Nature
- DDC/MDS
- 342.73 — Society, government, & culture Law U.S. Constitution - Bill of Rights, Amendments North America Constitutional law--United States
- LCC
- KF4772 .B65 — Law Law of the United States Law of the United States (Federal) Constitutional law Individual and state Civil and political rights and liberties
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 40
- Popularity
- 729,379
- Rating
- (2.67)
- Languages
- English, Hungarian
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 4
