After the events in Charlottesville, it has become apparent that many people believe in the myth of, “total” tolerance. What I mean by this is that in order to be tolerant we must tolerate intolerance. This is what is known as the paradox of tolerance, a decision theory paradox put forth by philosopher Karl Popper in 1945. The paradox states that in order for a society to remain tolerant, it must not be tolerant of intolerance; lest the society be overtaken by intolerance. That tolerance must be met with some rules and regulations is not a novel situation, that an unregulated process or system of ideas yields undesirable consequences-and thus must have rules- is hardly a new idea. In reality, there are few instances where having no rules actually has a net positive outcome on an individual, group, or society. Unfortunately, for many people, tolerance is subject to this reality as well; tolerance cannot exist with intolerance.

What do we call a civilization with no laws, taboos, or moral compass? Non-existent; unless your idea of a civilization is a small, undiversified group of people. A society of one hundred homogenous-from skin color, religion, sexuality, and gender to social and political opinions and occupations- people may have a chance to exist without rules or regulations. This because there is almost no diversity to be found in that society; so the social dynamics are simple and rules and so regulations in the form of the above stated are unnecessary. However this, “society” does not mirror the norm found today, almost all societies found on earth have minority groups and are diversified in some way. As our civilizations become larger and more complex, so too do our social dynamics. Tolerance becomes necessary for a civilization to thrive and succeed, because a lack of tolerance can mean the end of a civilization; and it is to the civilization’s interest to maintain itself. So then the question of, “should we tolerate intolerance” is reframed as, “should we allow behaviors and actions that threaten our civilization?”

The answer to that question is a “no”, and is similar to the answer Popper came to when discussing this paradox, “Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them.”