this post was submitted on 21 Oct 2023
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It's not "linguistic masturbation" though.
It's a philosophical concept that defines a particular paradox in a society that has unlimited tolerance specifically. It was actually one of a few paradoxes defined in the work it was popularized and pointed out in.
Looking it up would actually be beneficial because the works it comes from, and is derived from, are all very much well worth reading. The funny thing is this paradox basically comes from a footnote, so if one is worried about reading a whole book about it, they'll have nothing to worry about.
It's a term that comes up a lot now because Nazi apologists argue from a position that society is unlimitedly tolerant and so they must be tolerated, and then this gets brought up. Of course, the response is as you say: we've never been an unlimitedly tolerant society.
If anything, the paradox is a good thing to consider when people demand that unlimited tolerance, like free speech types who think they should be able to say anything they want without consequence.