When the state speaks, what should it say? : how democracies can protect expression and promote equality

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Title:

Author:

Brettschneider, Corey Lang.

ISBN:

9780691147628

Personal Author:

Brettschneider, Corey Lang.

Publication Information:

Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, 2012.

Physical Description:

xi, 216 p. ; 24 cm.

Contents:

Introduction: Averting two dystopias, an introduction to value democracy -- The principle of public relevance and democratic persuasion -- Publicly justifiable privacy and reflective revision by citizens -- When the state speaks, what should it say? democratic persuasion and the freedom of expression -- Democratic persuasion and state subsidy -- Religious freedom and the reasons for rights -- Conclusion: value democracy at home and abroad.

Subject Term:

Freedom of speech.

Democracy.

Copies:

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Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Copy	Status
Searching... 1:IIEMSA	1:GEN-BOOK	33168025560703	323.443 B845W 2012	1	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

How should a liberal democracy respond to hate groups and others that oppose the ideal of free and equal citizenship? The democratic state faces the hard choice of either protecting the rights of hate groups and allowing their views to spread, or banning their views and violating citizens' rights to freedoms of expression, association, and religion. Avoiding the familiar yet problematic responses to these issues, political theorist Corey Brettschneider proposes a new approach called value democracy. The theory of value democracy argues that the state should protect the right to express illiberal beliefs, but the state should also engage in democratic persuasion when it speaks through its various expressive capacities: publicly criticizing, and giving reasons to reject, hate-based or other discriminatory viewpoints.

Distinguishing between two kinds of state action--expressive and coercive--Brettschneider contends that public criticism of viewpoints advocating discrimination based on race, gender, or sexual orientation should be pursued through the state's expressive capacities as speaker, educator, and spender. When the state uses its expressive capacities to promote the values of free and equal citizenship, it engages in democratic persuasion. By using democratic persuasion, the state can both respect rights and counter hateful or discriminatory viewpoints. Brettschneider extends this analysis from freedom of expression to the freedoms of religion and association, and he shows that value democracy can uphold the protection of these freedoms while promoting equality for all citizens.