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A Collision of Principles? Free Expression, Racial Equality and the Prohibition of Racist Speech

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  • Gross, Kimberly A.
  • Kinder, Donald R.

Abstract

Freedom of expression is celebrated as one of the glories of the American political system. But does all speech deserve immunity? In particular, should speech designed to vilify or degrade on the basis of race be protected? Opinions on racist speech are complicated because they must accommodate two fundamental democratic principles that operate at cross purposes: freedom of expression, which implies support for racist speech, and racial equality, which implies the opposite. Using data from the 1990 General Social Survey, we examine how Americans resolve this conflict. Our major finding is that the principle of free expression dominates the principle of racial equality. What contemporary legal scholars regard as a hard case entailing a collision of democratic principles, ordinary Americans seem to interpret as a straightforward application of just a single principle. This result mirrors and perhaps reflects a nearly century-long and mostly lop-sided debate favouring free speech among American elites.

Suggested Citation

  • Gross, Kimberly A. & Kinder, Donald R., 1998. "A Collision of Principles? Free Expression, Racial Equality and the Prohibition of Racist Speech," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 28(3), pages 445-471, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:cup:bjposi:v:28:y:1998:i:03:p:445-471_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Allison Harell, 2010. "Political Tolerance, Racist Speech, and the Influence of Social Networks," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 91(3), pages 724-740, September.
    2. Nicholas Uchechukwu Asogwa & Michael Emeka Onwuama, 2021. "Hate Speech and Authentic Personhood: Unveiling the Truth," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(1), pages 21582440211, March.

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