Paradox of Tolerance

Karl Popper‘s Paradox of Tolerance is an idea that has stuck with Coby Christoph since he first heard about it. It‘s a thought that - given the rise of nationalism and extremist groups around the world - he finds absolutely compelling, profound, and incredibly important. Coby opted for a very direct approach in his work: a visual retelling of Popper‘s idea as a kind of cautionary tale, along the lines of „Resist the beginnings!“ Each group of figures was drawn by hand in pencil, outlined in pen, then digitally colored and assembled. The figures, all faceless, represent archetypes. A sign that extremism can occur anywhere and anyone can find themselves in it. The blue figures symbolize boundless tolerance, welcoming both the weak and oppressed (in yellow), as well as oppressors (in red) with open arms. In the first section of the image, we see the boundless tolerance (blue) looking up to the sky. It could be representative for citizens or also state organs. Blue does not want to see what is going on: namely that one of the radicals threatens a weaker person with a knife. Unconcerned, Blue reaches out to both of them equally, without condemning the violence. Both get the mask of tolerance - with devastating consequences. The dynamics building up to the right in the picture continue to come to a head: Already, figures in red, archetypes of extremism, exclusion and violence, are taking control of society and undermining the principles on which it was built. Coby Christoph‘s work illustrates with dramatic poignancy what Karl Popper summed up just as pointedly in the paradox of tolerance: if extremist forces are not put in their place from the outset with civil courage and all the means of the rule of law, they will destroy an open-minded, tolerant society committed to the principles of our constitution. An issue that is of great relevance not only to the U.S.A. and Germany.