A Right to Hate?
In August, French blogger Pauline Harmange published a booklet titled Moi les hommes, je les dΓ©teste (Me, men, I loathe them), which caused quite a stir in France (and a little bit outside France as well). The book β supposedly β is a protest against misogyny (hatred of women), by taking up the opposite point of view of misandry (hatred of men). βSupposedlyβ, because Iβm not sure exactly about the bookβs arguments as it is no longer available and I have thus been unable to read it. In any case, it is not this book itself that is the topic...
Fascism, Anti-fascism, and Violence
Surprisingly many people seem to think that anti-fascists are just as bad as the fascists they oppose. (According to one rather unreliable source even Chomsky recently made critical comments about βAntifaβ.) One would think that even a little bit of historical knowledge would prevent such strange ideas, but apparently this isnβt the case. Criticism of the anti-fascists and their tactics comes in β roughly β two kinds. One kind argues that violent tactics are bad because of their bad consequences. The other kind of argument appeals to (implicit) principles rather than to consequences. This short essay discusses β and rejects...
No, youβre not entitled to your opinion
Nearly everyone seems to believe that they are entitled to their opinion, but it is not exactly clear what that means. This commonly claimed entitlement is some kind of supposed right, but neither the action it is supposed to allow, nor the duties it entails are clear. All rights imply duties. Often these are negative duties β that is, duties not to do something. For example, if you have a right to free speech, then the government has the negative duty not to arrest you for speaking your mind. And if you have a right to life, then everyone else...