Respecting toleration : traditional liberalism and contemporary diversity

176 Pages·2017·1.133 MB·English

by  Balint, Peter

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RESPECTING TOLERATION
Thequestionoftolerationmattersmorethanever.Thepoliticsofthetwenty-
firstcenturyisrepletewithboththesuccessesand,alltoooften,thefailuresof
toleration. Yet a growing number of thinkers and practitioners have argued
against toleration. Some believe that liberal democracies are better served by
differentprinciples,suchasrespectof,orrecognitionfor,people’swaysoflife.
Others argue that because the liberal state should be entirely neutral or
indifferent towards people’s ways of life, it can no longer be tolerant—it has
nogroundsonwhichitcanobject,andsothereisnothinglefttotolerate.
Respecting Toleration provides a new, original, and provocative take on the
question of toleration and its application to the politics of contemporary
diversity.PeterBalintarguesforboththeconceptualcoherenceandnormative
desirability of toleration and neutrality. He argues that it is these principles
whichbestrealizethebasicliberalgoodofpeoplelivingtheirlivesastheysee
fit,ratherthanappealingtoprinciplesofrecognitionorrespectfordifference.
While those who criticized liberalism’s failings in dealing with the claims of
diversity had justification, it is the tenets of traditional liberalism that hold
theanswer.Respecting Tolerationarguesthat ifone caresaboutpeople living
divergent lives, then it is liberal toleration that should be respected by legis-
latorsandpolicy-makers,andnotpeople’sdifferences.
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Respecting Toleration
Traditional Liberalism and
Contemporary Diversity
PETER BALINT
1
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3
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Acknowledgements
The ideas in this book have been percolating for some time, and well before
I embarked on an academic career. They started with a scepticism of some
of the more heavy-handed multicultural policies—especially after viewing
empirical multiculturalism in action. This scepticism was then joined by a
defensivenesstowardstoleration—Iwastakenabackbythenumberofpeople
whoactivelydisparagedtheterm.Ofcourse,whenonereadsandsubsequently
writes into the academic literature, these issues become much more nuanced
andcomplex.Nevertheless,Ihaveprobablynotstrayedtoofarfrommyinitial
concerns,evenifagreatdealofconceptualanalysisnowprecedesthem.While
this is squarely a book for an academic audience, my (perhaps vain) hope is
thattheideasandwritingareaccessibleenoughforatleastsomeofittofilter
backouttothepracticallevelwhichinitiallyinspiredtheproject.
Along the way, I have been enormously assisted by many people and
institutions. Let me begin by thanking those who have very kindly read and
commented on all, or major parts of, the manuscript: Ned Dobos, Toni
Erskine, GeoffreyBrahmLevey, Stephanie Collins,JohnBalint,JohnDryzek,
Sune Lægaard, Andrew Jason Cohen, Miriam Ronzoni, Tiziana Torresi,
AnthonyHall,andLukeGlanville.
I am also grateful for suggestions, critical comments, and assistance
from: Deane-Peter Baker, Jennifer Balint, Ayelet Banai, Christian Barry,
Rainer Bauböck, Enrico Biale, Barbara Buckinx, Anthony Burke, Ian Carter,
Emanuela Ceva, Richard Childs, John Connor, Stephen Coleman, Katherine
Curchin, Keith Dowding, Lindy Edwards, Derek Edyvane, Lina Eriksson,
Luara Ferracioli, Bob Goodin, Sophie Guérard de Latour, Maria Paola
Ferretti, Rainer Forst, Stefan Gosepath, Rey Hopkins, John Horton, Elanor
Huntington,PeterJones,EszterKollar,WillKymlicka,HollyLawford-Smith,
David Lovell, Terry MacDonald, Matt Matravers, Susan Mendus, Michaelis
Michael, David Miller, Tariq Modood, Piero Moraro, Gavin Mount, Glen
Newey, Ephraim Nimni, Kieran Oberman, Yin Paradies, James Pattison, Anne
Pederson,HelenPringle,JonathanQuong,KimRubenstein,ChristianSchemmel,
Daniel Schuurman, Liam Shields, Nicholas Southwood, Tim Soutphommasane,
LauraValentini,StephendeWijze,JoWolff,KerriWoodsandFedericoZulo.
Mark Evenhuis and Rhiannon Neilsen provided valuable research assist-
ance which was enabled by funds from a Freilich Foundation (ANU) Early
CareerResearchGrantandfromTheSchoolofHumanities&SocialSciences
(UNSWCanberra).
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vi Acknowledgements
Institutionally, this work was undertaken at UNSW Canberra, where I am
very grateful to have such a supportive environment. I have also benefited
from visiting fellowships at the Centre for Advanced Studies ‘Justitia Ampli-
ficata: Rethinking Justice—Applied and Global’ (University of Frankfurt
am Main)—where we were very well looked after at the Forschungskolleg
HumanwissenschafteninBadHomburg—TheManchesterCentreforPolitical
Theory(Universityof Manchester), The Departmentof Politics(University of
York),TheSchoolofSocialSciences&InternationalStudies(UNSW),andThe
Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics (ANU). In Canberra, the
NationalLibraryofAustraliaprovidedanexcellentresearchenvironment.
At Oxford University Press, I am grateful for the assistance of Dominic
Byatt, Olivia Wells, and the editorial and production teams, and for the
feedbackfromtheiranonymousreviewersandreaders.
Chapter3 is an expanded and much revised version of ‘Identity Claims:
WhyLiberalNeutralityistheSolution,NottheProblem’,PoliticalStudies,63(2)
(2015):495–509;Chapter4isanexpandedandmuchrevisedversionof‘Actsof
Tolerance: A Political and Descriptive Account’, European Journal of Political
Theory,13(3)(2014):264–81;andChapter5isanexpandedandmuchrevised
version of ‘Against Respecting Each Others’ Differences’, Journal of Applied
Philosophy, 30(3) (2013): 254–67. I thank the publishers of these journals for
theirpermissiontousetheseworkshere.
Finally, my thanks go to both the Balint and Hopkins families for their
continued support—with an enormously big thank you to my wonderful
partner Bec. I dedicate this book to Tala and Tyrus—may you grow up to
liveinatolerantsociety.
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Contents
1. ATolerantSociety 1
ThreeChallengesforToleration 2
Diversity 6
AccommodatingDiversity 8
JustifyingToleration 10
TraditionalLiberalismandToleration 13
TwoTypesofAgent:StateandCitizen 15
TheRoleofPrinciples 18
OutlineoftheBook 20
2. UnderstandingPoliticalToleration 23
Being‘Tolerant’ 25
SpecificActsofTolerance 28
TolerationasaGeneralPoliticalPractice 28
TolerationandStateNeutrality 32
FurtherChallengestoPoliticalToleration 35
UnderstandingStateObjection 35
LocatingStatePower 36
The‘SymmetryThesis’ 38
AlternativeSolutionstotheProblemofPoliticalToleration 41
SeparatingtheSiteofPowerfromtheSiteofObjection 42
TransformativeIdeals 45
The‘RespectConception’ofToleration 48
Conclusion 49
3. ActiveIndifference:ANeutralandAccommodatingState 51
ChallengingNeutrality 53
ConceptionsofNeutrality 55
WhyCareaboutNeutrality? 58
ActiveIndifference 60
Why‘HandsOff’IsBetterthan‘HandsOn’ 64
IdentityandRecognition 70
NotDistinguishingbetweenMerePreferencesandDeeply
HeldBeliefs 72
Conclusion 75
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viii Contents
4. ToleranceandtheCitizen 77
AnActofTolerance 78
ObjectingtoSomeThing 80
ThePower(IncludingBothOpportunityandWillingness)
toInterfereNegativelywiththeThingorItsHolder 81
IntentionallyNotNegativelyInterferingwiththeThingor
ItsHolder 84
ReducingIntolerance 88
ToleranceandtheState 94
ATolerantDisposition 96
Conclusion 97
5. AgainstRespectingEachOthers’Differences 99
AnObligationtoRespectDifference? 101
AppraisalRespectforDifference 104
RecognitionRespectforDifference 106
DirectlyRespectingParticularDifferences 108
Respect-for-PersonsEntailingRespectforDifference 109
TryingtoRespect 112
BeingDeemed‘Respect-worthy’ 114
ToleranceandRespect 115
Conclusion 119
6. PractisingToleration 121
TheWeightinessofNeutrality 122
WelfareRedistribution 123
DefendingtheNation 125
DealingwithDifference 130
Mosques 130
Driver’sLicencePhotos 133
Discretion 135
Indigeneity 137
TheBoundariesofToleration 140
Conclusion 143
7. Conclusion 145
References 149
Index 163
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1
A Tolerant Society
Examplesoftolerationanditsabsencearenothardtofind.AfterSiniSaarela,
aFinnishGreenpeaceactivistandvegan,wasarrestedbyRussianofficialsand
chargedwithpiracyin2013,shewasapparentlystarvinginprisonbecauseher
dietary requests were not being met. In the same year a United States (US)
FederaljudgeorderedtheFloridaprisonsystemtoreinstatetheirKoshermeal
planforallprisonerswitha‘sincerereligiousbasis’.1IntheUnitedKingdom
(UK), Hull Council seems to have tried to conceal its Muslim women-only
swimmingsessionsbytellingotherusersoftheBeverleyRoadBathsthatthey
were closed for staff training. But in the Australian state of Victoria, several
local councils successfully applied for exemptions from anti-discrimination
legislation to run such women-only swimming classes.2 Or take the case
of gender identity: in 2013 the Education Department of the US state of
Massachusettsruledthattransgenderstudentscanaccessthelockerroomand
changingfacilitythatcorrespondswiththeirowngenderidentity.Andsimilarly
in 2013 the city council of Brighton and Hove in the UK announced its
intentiontodegenderitspublictoilets,statingthatitwishedtopromote‘gender
neutrality’and‘buildfacilitieswhichareopentoall,regardlessofsex’.3Ortake
the caseof racist abuse.In 2014,inwhat isanalltoocommonevent,a young
motherwassubjectedtoracistabuseonaDublinbusasshetravelledwithher
three-month-old baby. Earlier, on a Melbourne bus, Fanny Desaintjores was
subjectedtoracistabusebyotherpassengersaftershestartedsinginginFrench
as she travelled home.4 Or take the case of traditional pastimes and animal
rights.TraditionalfoxhuntinghasbeenillegalintheUKsince2004,butoverin
Ireland traditional hunts still continue. And finally, take the case of cultural/
religiouspracticesand theirimpactonothers.InPhiladelphia,the StJohn the
BaptistRomanCatholicChurchwastoldits7a.m.bellwastooloudandcould
leadtoa$700dailyfineifitviolatedthecity’snoiseordinance—awomanhad
1 UPI(2013);TheJewishDailyForward(2013);UnitedStatesCourts(2013).
2 Geeves(2010);News.com.au(2012). 3 Jeffreys(2014:44).
4 Ward(2014);AustralianHumanRightsCommission(2012).