Still, Mpofu’s vision is subject to Guy’s objections; the notion that dignity can be a group right, rather than, as usually conceived, individual, is especially problematic. Mpofu’s suggestion amounts to affirmative action as applied to the law of defamation. To put it crudely: he says that, because of the relevant history, a white person’s dignity is simply less worthy of protection, all other things being equal.

The more conventional analysis would, in balancing the right of the Minister to her dignity against the right to free speech, take into account her position as a public figure. That reduces the weight to be accorded to her reputational interest, for three reasons. First, one who enters public life must be assumed to know that this entails subjecting oneself to the hurly-burley of public discourse — which is often cruel and unfair. Second, the importance of speech on political matters often readily outweighs the public figure’s individual rights. Third, a public figure like the Minister has extaordinary access to the means of defending her reputation if she wishes to; that is why a private plaintiff, who typically has limited opportunity to hit back, or set the record straight, generally has a better chance of winning a defamation case.

Michael Osborne