Review
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“A powerful little book that seeks to dismantle familiar defenses of the right to indefensible
speech.”―Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker
“[Waldron’s] book sheds light on a number of difficult issues, and occasionally exposes the difference between
historical fact and fiction… He elegantly and convincingly advocates that our leaders should not only avoid the use of
hate speech themselves, but also condemn its use by others… We should all do our best to preserve President Ford’s
conception of America as a place where we can disagree without being disagreeable. An understanding of the arguments in
Waldron’s book may help us to do so.”―John Paul Stevens, New York Review of Books
“Waldron…challenges society and its legal system to do something about [the harm done by hate speech]. But the
likelihood that something will be done is slim if Waldron is right about the state of First Amendment discourse: ‘[I]n
the American debate, the philosophical arguments about hate speech are knee-jerk, impulsive and thoughtless.’ Not the
arguments of this book, however; they hit the mark every time.”―Stanley Fish, New York Times
“The Harm in Hate Speech is the fullest embodiment of arguments that Waldron has been developing for years… Waldron’s
treatise is primarily a philosophical defense of hate-speech regulation. He argues that hate speech is an
‘environmental’ problem that pollutes the atmosphere of security and dignity that society should provide to all its
members… Speech intended to intimidate or malign destroys this assurance… While we should continue to protect the free
speech of those we disagree with, The Harm in Hate Speech makes a compelling case that they are not the only ones who
need defending.”―Daniel Townshend, American Prospect
“Waldron is firmly on the side of the hate speech legislators. He wants free speech dogmatists to think again, and
presents a series of challenges to the prevailing view in the U.S.”―Nigel Warburton, Times Literary Supplement
“To the (mostly white) liberals who say they hate the content of hate speech, but defend its right to exist under the
First Amendment (often while patting themselves on the back for their tolerance), Waldron replies, in essence: easy for
you to say. In this brief, eloquent book, he urges readers (at a bare minimum) to think about how hate speech feels from
the point of view of its targets… From key court battles Waldron teases out the ideas that matter in deciding how to
balance free expression with a free society, one in which everybody can ‘know that when they leave home in the morning,
they can count on not being discriminated against or humiliated or terrorized.’”―Kate Tuttle, Boston Globe
“This is a wonderful book. It conveys complex ideas in an accessible and convincing way… Jeremy Waldron has put together
a clear and compelling rationale for hate-speech laws―the harm that it causes to human dignity.”―Katharine Gelber, Times
Higher Education
“This book develops a theory of hate speech that challenges existing U.S. legal rubrics. U.S. courts have repeatedly
held that the First Amendment forbids criminalization of hate speech, but Waldron advances a broader view of the link
between free expression and important social values such as tolerance and inclusiveness… If dignity is a concept that is
valued by a polity, Waldron argues, then there are important reasons to distinguish hate speech from other forms of
expression that merit legal protection. An elegant synthesis of modern legal philosophy and leading cases, as well as a
critique of the positions of prominent legal theorists such as Ronald Dworkin and C. Edwin Baker, the book is a
readable, thought-provoking contribution to the literature.”―S. B. Lichtman, Choice
“A vigorously argued, intelligent challenge to the ‘liberal bravado’ of U.S. First Amendment scholars. In an eloquent
reply to free-speech advocates, Waldron moves step by step in building the argument as to why hate-speech laws are good
for a well-ordered society… The author argues that the damage caused by hate speech is like an ‘environmental threat to
social peace, a sort of slow-acting poison’ that robs the intended victims of their dignity and reputation in society.
Waldron’s analogy between hate speech and pornography―in terms of the defamation of women―is particularly noteworthy. He
responds carefully to the notion of free speech as a necessary part of democracy’s ‘marketplace of ideas’ and looks to
the Enlightenment philosophes for their views on toleration and defamation.”―Kirkus Reviews
“Waldron is a legal and political thinker at the height of his powers. Even, or perhaps especially, for someone who
disagrees with his position on hate speech legislation, this book conveys a subtle, rich, rigorous and deeply
challenging argument.”―Timothy Garton Ash, St Antony’s College, University of Oxford
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About the Author
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Jeremy Waldron is University Professor in the School of Law at New York University.
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