[belorn]

> and teach them to answer arguments by the use of their fists or pistols.

It would be great if that condition was used to distinguish between individuals that are intolerant and those that simply are dissenting.

A dissenter might disagree with the rationality of the arguments being presented. They might be in minority in term of public opinion. Suppression would still certainly be most unwise.

[jolux]

You can’t perfectly distinguish between intolerance and dissent from first principles because the distinction is inherently political, and intolerance could also be characterized as dissent in a society that practices tolerance. In most cases though I think intolerance is pretty clear: when you start denying people’s status as full citizens of a nation, you are being intolerant.