Book Review, Jeremy Waldron, The Harm in Hate Speech (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2012)
Raphael Cohen‐Almagor · SSRN Electronic Journal · 2013
The Harm in Hate Speech is the best comprehensive book from a liberal perspective, written by legal philosopher, endorsing hate speech legislation. Waldron makes a powerful argument that surely promotes exchange and debate.Waldron emphasizes the notion of dignity, arguing that hate speech undermines the dignity of the person. A person’s dignity is not just some Kantian aura. It relates to people’s social standing, the fundamentals of basic reputation that entitle them to be treated as equals in the ordinary operations of society. Hate messages undermine the targets’ equal status in the community, their entitlement to basic justice and to the fundamentals of their reputation.