Political Correctness
An ideological orientation that prioritizes lying above truth. A gift that nobody wants.
A term that was originally used to describe adherence to the policies and principles of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. If it benefitted the party, it was acceptable, anything opposed is unacceptable.
It has undergone minor adaptations over time, but its purpose remains intact. If our language benefits the party, it is acceptable, anything opposed is unacceptable. This is often conflated to condemn opposition as anti-progress or unenlightened; this is confession through projection.
A common invocation by defenders of political correctness is the Whorfian hypothesis. It asserts that our perception of reality is determined by our thought processes, which are influenced by the language we use. In this way, it is claimed, language shapes our reality and tells us how to think about and respond to that reality. According to the hypothesis, using sexist language promotes sexism and using racial language promotes racism; language not only reveals our biases, it promotes them. Like many STUPID ideas, it contains a requisite number of good intentions and a semblance of concordance with our observations, but then immediately begins to fall apart when you examine it closely.
Language does not shape reality; it both shapes and is influenced by our perceptions. This feedback loop is persistent and it receives regular updates from reality. SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISTS have cornered the market on flighty hypotheses, which predictably promote a naive understanding of the world where our perceptions are more real than reality, and we exist as miniature deities. The world is made better, whatever this means, by speaking more politely. If we cannot be bothered to simply be better by using their language and their perspectives, neither of which are supported by logic or reason, then we are to be cast out from civilized society. Romantic delusions trump any discovery of an objective truth; thus is the operating system of dialectical materialism.
When hollow academic theories fail to justify political correctness, etiquette is invoked in its stead. They will argue that if the social etiquette is breached, then we should expect disapproval of the group as punishment. The innate flaw of this view is that political correctness is artificial; it is designed by special interests in a particular manner to achieve a particular goal. While etiquette is an evolutionary product, it emerges among social groups based on a shared understanding of values that are evidently worthy and purposeful. One or more individuals deciding what is best for everyone and then imposing it on the community is a social engineering project, it is not a valid representation of etiquette.
Political correctness incentivizes deceit by rewarding those who deny reality. The promise is that if we deny reality for long enough and force others to do it as well, the world will become a better place.
As the late George Carlin stated, ‘political correctness is fascism pretending to be manners’.
Posted: 2 Jan 2023
