THE CONCEPT OF RESPONSIBLE DISSENT

It has been alleged that the right to dissent only applies in cases of responsible dissent. This implies that there are adequate criteria for distinguishing between responsible & irresponsible dissent. This paper presents an analysis of 3 types of criteria which might be employed to make this distinction. It is argued that the employment of psychol'al or epistemological criteria involves question begging since all such criteria assume the legitimacy of the policies towards which the dissent is directed. Behavioral criteria prove inadequate since they confuse irresponsible dissent with criminal acts. Hence it is concluded that the notion of responsible dissent is a vacuous concept which functions as a rhetorical device for the suppression of any unwelcome dissent. AA.