How Much is Enough?

The principle of state neutrality is now so well estalbished that we sometimes forget how revolutionary it is. Until 1960s, liberalism was primarily a doctrine of tolerance, not neutrality. The distinction is significant. Tolerance is not mere absence of bias but a positive ethical virtue; it implies forbearance, serenity, good humour anda respect of privacy. But tolerance does not rule out public preference for one moral or religious doctrine over the others; it insists only that the rivals be treated with consideration and respect. Finally, tolerance needs not extend to the intolerable, whereas neutrality must in all consistency be universal. The tolerant state does not face the dilemma of the neutral state when dealing with necrophiliacs, neo-Nazis and the like.