‘Dignitarian Harm’: The Newest Thought Police Rationalization
(Photo by Rama) (CC BY) (Resized/Cropped)
Occasionally I warn people who share my point of view (or at least some of my values, like the importance of freedom of speech) of something that, from my perch in academic life, I see coming over the horizon. I’m going to do that again now.
As the left (with notable honorable exceptions) veers further in the direction of authoritarianism (what Jonah Goldberg calls “liberal fascism”), you will begin to hear a word (and a phrase) that will be the touchstone of justifications for cracking down on speech that violates norms of political correctness by criticizing conduct or behavior that has been condemned as immoral or degrading by classical, religious, and natural law ethics.
The word is “dignitarian.”
The phrase is “dignitarian harm.”
It will be in the name of “dignitarian harm” (harm to people’s dignity) that more and more people will be fired from or excluded from employment, or denied business, or educational opportunities, or otherwise disadvantaged. Similarly, religiously affiliated academic institutions, health care providers, and social services agencies will be targeted for allegedly causing “dignitarian harm.”
We have here a matter on which libertarians and conservatives (and even old fashioned liberals) can and must unite. The concept of “dignitarian harm” as a justification for restricting civil liberties is profoundly dangerous. It is a rationalization for speech and thought policing. But it’s already appearing in law review articles and even legal briefs. It must not be permitted to gain a foothold in our jurisprudence.
Robert George is Chairman at United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, McCormick Professor of Juriprudence at Princeton University, Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School, and author of Conscience and Its Enemies: Confronting the Dogmas of Liberal Secularism.
Trending Now on Affluent Christian Investor
Sorry. No data so far.
Follow Us
The Affluent Mix
Haile Selassie’s Grandson Warns African Americans: Marxism Leads To Blind ... October 29, 2020 | David Gornoski
Conservative Critiques Of Twitter Sound Very Left-Wing Liberal... October 29, 2020 | John Tamny
COVID Is Not A Disruptor, It’s An Accelerator... October 29, 2020 | David Bahnsen
Open Letter From Investors In Funds Which Hold Netflix About ‘Cuties’ And Ch... October 29, 2020 | Charles Bowyer
Ballot Fraud As An Election Strategy October 29, 2020 | Frank Vernuccio
Reining In The Proxies: A Letter To Secretary Of Labor Eugene Scalia... October 29, 2020 | Jerry Bowyer
We Have Nothing To Fear From China October 29, 2020 | Roger McKinney
Income And Life Damage On The Homefront October 29, 2020 | Jim Huntzinger
Society Is Better When Assumptions Match Reality... October 29, 2020 | Daniel McLaughlin
Reforming Capitalism Leads To Socialism October 20, 2020 | Roger McKinney
Open Letter From Financial Advisors To Netflix About ‘Cuties’ And Child Expl... October 20, 2020 | Charles Bowyer
Is China Funding BLM? October 20, 2020 | Frank Vernuccio
Taking Risks With Other People’s Money October 20, 2020 | Daniel McLaughlin
The New York Times And Trump’s Critics Can’t Have It Both Ways... October 20, 2020 | John Tamny
Defending Pensions October 20, 2020 | Jerry Bowyer
An Unnecessary Concern About Income Inequality... October 20, 2020 | Jim Huntzinger
Open Letter From Netflix Shareholders About ‘Cuties’ And Child Exploitation... October 13, 2020 | Charles Bowyer
No Longer Operating Under The Original Intent... October 13, 2020 | Jim Huntzinger
What This New Economic CAT Scan Shows About This Recession... October 13, 2020 | Jerry Bowyer
Post Election Violence? October 13, 2020 | Frank Vernuccio
Investor Lessons From A World Of Doing Something... October 13, 2020 | David Bahnsen
Finance Prof’s New Book Challenges Stagnation, Division Mindset... October 13, 2020 | Jerry Bowyer
Join the conversation!
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, vulgarity, profanity, all caps, or discourteous behavior. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain a courteous and useful public environment where we can engage in reasonable discourse.