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Finding the Harm in Hate Speech: An Argument against Censorship

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 January 2017

Stephen L. Newman
Stephen L. Newman*
Affiliation:
York University
*
Department of Political Science, Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto ON, M3J 1P3, email: snewman@yorku.ca
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Abstract

The liberal justification for censorship equates the harm in hate speech with the sort of tangible injury that would justify state intervention under J.S. Mill's harm principle. Recently, Jeremy Waldron has suggested that the real harm perpetuated by hate speech is less tangible, taking it to be a variety of moral pollution which undermines both the public good of inclusiveness and the minority's assurance of personal dignity. This paper scrutinizes Waldron's conception of the harm in hate speech, arguing that it lacks the specificity and gravity Mill's principle requires in order to justify censorship. The paper also questions the categorical distinction between hate speech and speech that is “merely offensive,” arguing that Waldron's reasons for censoring the one also apply to the other. The result is a censorship regime that liberals ought not to accept.

Résumé

La justification libérale de la censure met sur un pied d’égalité le tort causé par le discours haineux et le préjudice tangible qui justifierait l’intervention de l’État en vertu du principe de non-nuisance à autrui de J.S. Mill. Récemment, Jeremy Waldron a suggéré que le préjudice réel perpétré par le discours haineux est moins tangible, en le considérant comme une forme de pollution morale qui constitue une atteinte aux biens publics que sont l'inclusion et la dignité personnelle des membres d'une minorité. Cet article examine la conception de Waldron concernant le préjudice causé par le discours haineux en soutenant qu’il n’a pas la spécificité et la gravité que le principe de Mill exige afin de justifier la censure. L’article remet également en question la distinction catégorique entre le discours haineux et des propos « purement offensants » en soutenant que les raisons de Waldron de censurer l’un s’appliquent aussi aux autres. Le résultat est un régime de censure que les libéraux ne devraient pas accepter.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 50 , Issue 3 , September 2017 , pp. 679 - 697
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association (l'Association canadienne de science politique) and/et la Société québécoise de science politique 2017 

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Footnotes

My thanks to Ronnie Beiner, Raphael Cohen-Almagor, Michael Gelb, Samuel LaSelva and especially Ross Rudolph for their comments on earlier versions of this paper. My thanks also to the journal's two anonymous reviewers for their helpful suggestions.

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