The Power of Tolerance

Brown and Forst are the authors of two of the most important books on tolerance to be published in the last decade. This book not only offers an overview of their positions but also puts these two authors into a surprisingly productive dialogue. The Power of Tolerance is a rich and compelling exchange between two of the best political theorists working today. -- Amy Allen, Dartmouth College In today's world of divisive politics and divided civilizations, what could be more germane than a spirited debate on the topic of tolerance conducted by two of the world's most respected political theorists? The Power of Tolerance records for those of us who could not be there in person the searching and profound but also fast-paced and witty exchange of ideas between two giants of contemporary political thought: Wendy Brown and Rainer Forst. Ranging from historical insights into the origins of our current concepts to provocative examples from the spheres of culture, sexuality, and religion, what this exchange reveals above all is how deeply complex tolerance is, and how that most laudable goal of generating a politics of tolerance adequate to the problems of our time can only be achieved by running the gauntlet of that concept's inevitable imbrication with the discourses of power. -- William Egginton, Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities, The Johns Hopkins University It is almost half a century since Robert Paul Wolff, Barrington Moore Jr. and Herbert Marcuse published the radical provocation to liberal orthodoxy they called A Critique of Pure Tolerance, a seminal text for the New Left. Two of today's most eminent political theorists, the American Wendy Brown and the German Rainer Forst, pick up where they left off, debating with far more light than heat the abiding power--to do both good and ill--of a concept that remains central to Western political culture. -- Martin Jay, University of California, Berkeley In recent years the discourse and practice of tolerance have been subjected to sustained critique because of the way they subtly constitute and discipline those who are being tolerated. Brown and Forst have been important voices in opening up this topic. But they differ in how we should think about the value of tolerance after critique. Their debate generates a little heat and a large amount of light. The participants disagree, but they keep carefully speaking to each other's points, not past them. The result is a marvelously engaging and valuable volume. -- Stephen K. White, James Hart Professor of Politics, University of Virginia As a practice and a concept, tolerance counts as a major historical discovery in struggles against domination. Yet by casting the tolerant as the figure of virtue, and the tolerated or intolerant as its other, political discourses of toleration often mask and sustain relations of domination. In this brilliant exchange between the two leading theorists of toleration in contemporary political theory, Wendy Brown and Rainer Forst trace the tangled embrace of power and toleration in all its intricacy. The clarity, grace and humor of the dialogue make for highly enjoyable reading, as accessible to students as it is illuminating for experts. With an insightful context-setting epilogue by Christoph Holzey and Luca Di Blaso, the book is a must-read for anyone interested in the paradoxes and moral importance of toleration. -- Melissa Williams, University of Toronto Brown and Forst are outstanding scholars as well as authors of important books on this ambiguous term... Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews We can gain much from reading and discussing this slim, insightful book. Marx & Philosophy Review of Books