The paradox of tolerance arises when a tolerant person holds antagonistic views towards intolerance, and hence is intolerant of it. The tolerant individual would then be by definition intolerant of intolerance.
Philosopher Karl Popper defined the paradox in 1945 in The Open Society and Its Enemies Vol. 1. [1]
“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.”
He concluded that we are warranted in refusing to tolerate intolerance:
“We should therefore claim, in the name of tolerance, the right not to tolerate the intolerant.”
In 1971, philosopher John Rawls concludes in A Theory of Justice [2] that a just society must tolerate the intolerant…
View original post 179 more words
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
Recent Comments