The Issue of Hate Speech: V. Regulation as a Tactic (Part 1/3)

By Notung • • 1 comment

Consider two possible societies; one in which members of a minority frequently see themselves as the target of hateful messages1 and one in which they have a much greater sense of dignity. I agree with Waldron (as I suppose virtually everybody of sound morals would) that we should desire the latter society, and that is the society that is ‘well-ordered’ (in the sense Waldron uses it). We want to live in a society that is well-ordered, in which all people may live their lives without fear or encountering hateful propaganda. It may seem that we should stop there – if that is what we want, then we should actively try to create that society and discourage all efforts to the contrary. But should we use regulation by the state as a means of bringing about that sort of society? Suppose we want to bring about a society that we consider well-ordered as a result of the fact that nobody interrupts each other. It seems to me that this society is ‘well-ordered’ in the sense that Waldron is talking about. Of course, someone interrupting another person is not as undesirable as someone handing out racist propaganda on the street. Waldron’s argument is not a question of degree or ‘drawing the line’; it is a question of bringing about well-ordered societies. While we want to discourage people from interrupting each other, it is clear that this is not the kind of act that should be regulated. So, even though we rely on the state to shape our society into one that is well-ordered, there are some things which are inappropriate to regulate. Again, this is not a question simply of whether the act in question is a grossly immoral act or not. We can be fined for parking our vehicle for too long in the same place. This is a relatively minor misdemeanour, and yet it does not seem inappropriate to prohibit it with a reasonable and proportionate punishment. The question therefore raised is this: what sort of acts should be prohibited by the state?