London S&C
London S&C
Freedom of Expression lecture - Monday 6th March 2006
Viewpoint Absolutism and Hate Speech
Abstract below
All Western European states currently prohibit various forms of racist, sexist, anti-religious, homophobic, or other intolerant speech. Yet hate speech bans generate pervasive indeterminacy and contradiction. It might be assumed that they are no different in that respect from other laws that are subject to vagueness, but are nonetheless socially necessary. However, hate speech bans' internal contradictions are not merely occasional or incidental. They are pervasive, and cannot be re-drafted to eliminate that defect. In contrast to traditional marketplace, peacekeeping or deontological theories, a coherence theory is proposed to suggest that Western European hate speech bans are inherently discriminatory, and should be abolished. It is further argued that post-World War II models of a European social welfare state, sometimes invoked to justify limits on unbridled liberalism, do not plausibly justify hate speech bans, and indeed provide grounds for expanding, rather than constraining, free speech.
Dr Eric Heinze
