Should We Tolerate the Intolerant? A debate between Denis Lacorne and Bernard Harcourt

In the increasingly divided political and social landscape that surrounds us today, the idea of tolerance seems to be more relevant than ever. Beyond the acrimonious debates on migration, hate speech, or religious symbols in public places, the ideal of tolerance offers the vision of a social order that accommodates diversity while preserving common principles that bind citizens together. But are there limits to tolerance? Are there circumstances when free speech should be curtailed? What should be done when extremist voices threaten the very order tolerance is founded upon? How do social media and digital threats to privacy change the terms of the debate on hate speech and tolerance? What can history teach us about the conditions needed to build a tolerant society?

Denis Lacorne, Professor of History at Sciences Po and author of The Limits of Tolerance, and Bernard Harcourt, Professor of Law and Political Science at Columbia University and author of Exposed: Desire and Disobedience in the Digital Age, will draw on their research and experience to debate what tolerance means today.