What Is Toleration?
Toleration, in its pure form, is the practice of allowing or accepting beliefs, practices, or behaviors that one may disagree with or even find objectionable.
Toleration is essential for peaceful coexistence in diverse societies. Its opposite, intolerance, leads to the breaking down of peaceful coexistence. Intolerance often leads to the persecution of individuals or groups based on their beliefs, practices, ethnicity, religion, or other differences. This can manifest as discrimination, social exclusion, violence, andoppression by the state. The consequences are severe:
- Social conflict and violence: Intolerance breeds resentment and hostility between groups, often escalating into open conflict, riots, or even civil war.
- Suppression of freedom: People are denied the freedom to express their beliefs, practice their culture and faith, and live according to their values, leading to widespread fear.
- Persecution and human rights abuses: Intolerant societies may engage in persecution, such as religious or ethnic cleansing, imprisonment, torture, or execution of dissenters.
- Loss of diversity and innovation: When only certain beliefs or practices are tolerated, diversity is stifled. This limits creativity, innovation, and the ability of society to adapt to new challenges.
- Psychological harm: Victims of intolerance often suffer from trauma, anxiety, and a diminished sense of self-worth.
History is filled with examples—religious persecutions, racial segregation and apartheid, and the suppression of political dissent in authoritarian regimes—all of which show that intolerance undermines social harmony, erodes trust, and ultimately harms the wellbeing of everyone in society, not just the targeted groups.
By contrast, toleration allows people with different backgrounds and beliefs to live together peacefully, fostering mutual respect, cooperation, and a richer, more resilient society.
The Paradox of Tolerance
The philosopher Karl Popper presented the Paradox of Tolerance in his book, The Open Society and Its Enemies: Unlimited tolerance can lead to the destruction of tolerance itself. If a society tolerates all forms of behavior and expression without any restrictions, and allows intolerance, hatred, violence, crime, or the suppression of others, then intolerant people and groups can take advantage of this freedom to undermine and eventually destroy tolerance in the society.
In the same book, Popper also brings up two closely-related concepts:
- The paradox of democracy:: The possibility that a democratic majority could vote for a tyrant to rule, thus ending democracy.
- The paradox of freedom:: Unlimited freedom would “make the bully free to enslave the meek”, thus reducing freedom.
The Limits of Toleration
Since Wellism promotes what enhances Wellbeing, and opposes whatever harms it, this entails the following:
Wellism is opposed to actions and ideologies that come at the expense of the wellbeing of the innocent. Therefore, althought Wellism supports toleration and respecting the personal sovereignty and freedom of others even when their choices or beliefs differ from our own, this is only when these do not come at the expense of the wellbeing of others.
In practical terms, this means that generally we support freedom of speech, peaceful religious practices (freedom of religion), peaceful demonstrations (freedom of assembly), freedom of the press, and so on. Peaceful religious practice, diverse lifestyles, and differing opinions
And we oppose intolerant attitudes such as: religious persecution, political persecution, bigotry (e.g. racism, sexism, homophobia), and other forms of intolerance.
However:
- Tolerance towards religious beliefs does NOT apply when those beliefs themselves promote and lead to religious persecution, violence, and terrorism against people who disagree with those beliefs.
- Tolerance towards political beliefs does NOT apply when those beliefs aim for the take over of the government in order to establish an intolerant theocracy, an authoritarian regime, or any tyranny of the majority.
- Tolerate towards the freedom to demonstrate does NOT apply when those demonstrations lead to riots, violence, vandalism and destruction of property, or obstruction of public spaces and roads without a legal permit.
This justified “intolerance of intolerance” should be followed by actions to restrict the dangerous and destructive actions of the intolerant. For example:
- Laws against incitement to genocide, terrorism, and other forms of violence.
- Anti-discrimination laws.
- Education to promote respecting the personal sovereignty and freedom of others, including: the right to choose one’s religious beliefs, freedom of speech to express criticism of religion, and so on.
- Law enforcement to prevent acts of violence, destruction, and discrimination, and to arrest those who pose a threat to the innocent.
In conclusion, ethical toleration opposes moral relativism or indifference. Wellism does not tolerate actions or ideologies that actively harm the wellbeing of others. This is also in accordance with the principle of ethical reciprocity, and mutualism: One cannot fairly demand to be treated well while refusing to treat others in a similar way.