Political Correct is a Bad Path

For John, BLUF:  Be yourself and be free.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

Down in Auburn, Alabama is the Mises Institute.♠  It is named after the Austrian Economist Ludwig von Mises (1881–1973).  Mr von Mises founded the Austrian School of economics.  Another name associated with the Austrian School is Mr Friedrich Hayek.

From the November–December 2015 issue of The Austrian we have this article, "PC Is About Control, Not Etiquette".

I’d like to speak today about what political correctness is, at least in its modern version, what it is not, and what we might do to fight against it.

To begin, we need to understand that political correctness is not about being nice.  It’s not simply a social issue, or a subset of the culture wars.

It’s not about politeness, or inclusiveness, or good manners.  It’s not about being respectful toward your fellow humans, and it’s not about being sensitive or caring or avoiding hurt feelings and unpleasant slurs.

But you’ve heard this argument, I’m sure.  PC is about simple respect and inclusiveness, they tell us. As though we need progressives, the cultural enforcers, to help us understand that we shouldn’t call someone retarded, or use the “N” word, make hurtful comments about someone’s appearance, or tolerate bullies.

If PC truly was about kindness and respect, it wouldn’t need to be imposed on us.  After all, we already have a mechanism for the social cohesion PC is said to represent: it’s called manners.  And we already have specific individuals charged with insuring that good manners are instilled and upheld:  they’re called parents.

Political Correctness Defined

But what exactly is PC?  Let me take a stab at defining it: Political correctness is the conscious, designed manipulation of language intended to change the way people speak, write, think, feel, and act, in furtherance of an agenda.

PC is best understood as propaganda, which is how I suggest we approach it.  But unlike propaganda, which historically has been used by governments to win favor for a particular campaign or effort, PC is all-encompassing.  It seeks nothing less than to mold us into modern versions of Marx’s un-alienated society man, freed of all his bourgeois pretensions and humdrum social conventions.

So, read the whole thing.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  518 West Magnolia Avenue, Auburn, Alabama 36832-4501.