Liberating Tolerance

"That's right. Brantley is Whitfield. Whitfield is Brantley."
--Brantley Foster (Secret of My Success)

In the 1960s, cultural Marxist Herbert Marcuse developed the concept of 'liberating tolerance.' Drawing from Freudian theories of psychological oppression, Marcuse posited that many 'correct' ideas are repressed by dominant coalitions that would not benefit if those ideas became widely known. In order to get the 'truth' out there, those dominant coalitions and their associated institutions must be overthrown.

Marcuse proposed that one way to do this is thru 'liberating tolerance.' Liberating tolerance means tolerating all ideas coming from the 'correct' sources while tolerating no ideas coming from sources deemed 'incorrect.'

Let's be clear. Tolerance does not mean accepting something as right or truthful. It means being able to live with something that one doesn't like. For example, I may find someone who espouses cultural Maxist ideals as distasteful, but, if I am tolerant, then I do not seek to forcibly remove that person from my environment. I can try to explain or persuade why that person's ideas or approach may be wrong or misguided, but I cannot seek to forcibly suppress the person's views. If I did so, then I would be intolerant.

The notion of 'liberating tolerance' is clearly oxymoronish in nature.

Then again, attempts to turn the meaning of words upside down is another trademark of socialist movements.