The Tolerant Society: Freedom of Speech and Extremist Speech in AmericaOxford University Press, 1986 - 295 páginas The First Amendment provides Americans with a far broader protection of free speech than that available in any other Western democracy, Lee Bollinger notes, and yet other democracies are not seen as significantly less open or more restrictive that the United States. Why do Americans guarantee people the right to advocate the overthrow of the government or advance racist or genocidal ideas? Why, for example, protect the right of neo-Nazis to march in predominantly Jewish Skokie, Illinois? 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. 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 toloeration 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. About the Author: Lee C. Bollinger is Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School. |
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... important piece of the American character , for which we have countless and almost daily pieces of evidence . And we ought to expect this broader social sym- bolism to interact in important ways with the strictly " legal " proc- ess of ...
... important piece of the American character , for which we have countless and almost daily pieces of evidence . And we ought to expect this broader social sym- bolism to interact in important ways with the strictly " legal " proc- ess of ...
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... important informational gain we may acquire simply by hear- ing the falsehood expressed . Meiklejohn's essay can be read to make this kind of argument , though it is by no means explicit . * 6 It is more readily found in Chafee's Free ...
... important informational gain we may acquire simply by hear- ing the falsehood expressed . Meiklejohn's essay can be read to make this kind of argument , though it is by no means explicit . * 6 It is more readily found in Chafee's Free ...
Página 173
... important role in assisting decision making , but as a way of pressing for an intellectual capacity or perspective that is also thought to be of direct value elsewhere . It is important to recognize the significance of the change in ...
... important role in assisting decision making , but as a way of pressing for an intellectual capacity or perspective that is also thought to be of direct value elsewhere . It is important to recognize the significance of the change in ...
Contenido
Introduction | 3 |
Enslaved to Freedom? | 12 |
The Classical Model and Its Limits | 43 |
Derechos de autor | |
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The Tolerant Society Lee C. Bollinger Dean University of Michigan Law School Vista previa limitada - 1986 |
Términos y frases comunes
Abrams ACLU act of tolerance Alexander Bickel Alexander Meiklejohn Amendment anti-Semitism argument attitudes basic beliefs capacity censorship chap Chaplinsky chapter citizens claim concern constitutional context decision defendants democracy democratic discussion dissent doctrine excessive intolerance expression extremist speech fact feelings fighting words fortress model free speech idea free speech principle free speech theory freedom of speech function of free harm Holmes Holmes's human important incitement individual injury intellectual interest involved issues Jewish Defense League Jews judges judicial Kalven libel liberty limits majority meaning Meiklejohn mind moral Nazi Nazism Neier nonspeech behavior obscenity opinion political potential premises principle of free problem prohibit protection punishment racial reason regulation response risk role seeking seems self-government self-restraint sense Skokie society speech activity speech behavior Sullivan suppression tendency thought tolerance truth values Wigmore York Times Co