Proteccionismo ideológico e intolerancia política

La disminución de la conciencia cívica y el conocimiento político contribuyen a la intolerancia política

QUILLETTE.- The marketplace of ideas is premised on the notion that when people exchange competing ideas, they assign value to those with the most intellectual merit and discard those without merit. However, in order to trust that this process will advance one’s own political values, one must both believe that one’s ideas are most meritorious, and also have some confidence in one’s ability to promote and defend those values to others. In other words, participation in a free marketplace of ideas requires a certain level of confidence in one’s own political acumen.

There is already evidence that political expertise leads to greater tolerance. As acrimonious as political dialog is in Washington, political elites have historically shown high levels of support for democratic norms and exercise considerable tolerance compared to the masses. While they may not engage in polite discourse, elites are nonetheless protective of discourse.

On the contrary, what we see on college campuses are student demands for intellectual trade protection. I argue that protectionism of ideas, like protectionism of goods, is based in insecurity and accomplished through restrictive practices. Certain ideas may be embargoed, prohibited from entering the marketplace at all through speech codes and student conduct policies. Other ideas exact a social tariff, such that the psychological cost of exchanging them discourages trade. And of course, students are demanding that universities implement their own form of import quotas, placing restrictions on outside speakers and even professors who would shift the balance of ideas away from the Left. | April Kelly-Woessner

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