Here is a wonderful quote on tolerance, something I am a great believer in, from Raghuram Rajan, the retiring Governor of the reserve Bank of India. This is from a Quartz article
Tolerance means not being so insecure about one’s ideas that one cannot subject them to challenge – it implies a degree of detachment that is absolutely necessary for mature debate. Finally, respect requires that in the rare case when an idea is tightly associated with a group’s core personality, we are extra careful about challenging it.
Tolerance can take the offense out of debate, and indeed instil respect. If I go berserk every time a particular button is pressed, rebels are tempted to press the button, while mischief-makers indeed do so. But if I do not react predictably, and instead ask button pressers to explain their concerns, rebels are forced to do the hard work of marshalling arguments. So, rebels do not press the button frivolously, while the thuggish mischief makers who abound in every group are left without an easy trigger. Tolerance and respect then lead to a good equilibrium where they reinforce each other.
With so much talk about passion it is good to hear about tolerance, hopefully we can make them work together to be even more powerful.
The article has a number of other very good quotes about corruption, the rich and famous, dosa economics and more – Chicago’s gain!
