We love freedom. We hate racism. But what do we do when these two values collide? This book explores the policies that the United States, Britain, France, Germany, and other liberal democracies have implemented when faced with this challenge. The book's comparative historical approach reveals four central findings: first, most countries have restricted freedom for racist speech, associations, and motives since the end of World War II; second, this trend has more closely resembled a slow creep than a slippery slope; third, the United States has contradicted the overarching pattern by expanding ... More

We love freedom. We hate racism. But what do we do when these two values collide? This book explores the policies that the United States, Britain, France, Germany, and other liberal democracies have implemented when faced with this challenge. The book's comparative historical approach reveals four central findings: first, most countries have restricted freedom for racist speech, associations, and motives since the end of World War II; second, this trend has more closely resembled a slow creep than a slippery slope; third, the United States has contradicted the overarching pattern by expanding freedom of racist expression and association; but, fourth, the United States has also been at the forefront of contracting freedom of racist opinion when used as a motive to actions. Each country has struggled to balance these core values, and although the outcomes differ significantly, none has violated the fundamental principles of liberal democracy. Drawing on these historical observations, this book asks just how much freedom we should grant to racists. It argues that we must pay close attention to the specific context and to the likely effects of the policies that we implement, and that any response should be proportionate to the level of harm inflicted by the racist speech, group, or act. This bopok concludes that the best way for societies to balance preserving freedom and combating racism is through processes of public deliberation that involve citizens and their representatives.