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Political correctness is a political ideology, nothing more. I believe political correctness is a political ideology and it cannot be correct unless it is linked to genuine transformation. First, I will examine the origins of political correctness to try to get a clear understanding of what this movement is. Second, I will show you that political correctness is political and how it became a political ideology.
Lastly, I shall discuss why this ideology does not work. Political correctness is cultural Marxism. Marx, as cited in Introduction to Social Science course guide, believed that if people were left to work on their own they would be more efficient. He had an ideological belief that laborers could actually want to work hard without being forced to.
Political correctness as noted by Lind (web) is just Marxism converted from economic into cultural terms. This is how far back one has to look in order to understand how political correctness came about. Political correctness goes back further than just twenty years ago as Cameron (1995) stated. I believe it started even before the nineteen sixties. As Lind noted it probably can be traced back to World War one.
Lind noted the Marxist theory that when the First World War came the working class would over throw the bourgeoisie government. However, this did not happen. In 1923 as Lind further notes, a "think-tank" was established in Germany and took on the role of translating Marxism from economic into cultural terms, which created political correctness, as we know it today. An institute for Marxism was formed however the people who started this institute decided it was better not to openly identify it as a Marxist institute. The last thing political correctness wants is for people to figure out it is a form of Marxism. As Cameron stated, " The people who are characterized as adherents of the 'political correctness movement's tenuously deny that any such movement exist." So instead, they decided to name it The Institute for Social Research.
And so the question of "Critical theory "began. This theory is simply about criticizing. As Lind states, it calls for "the most destructive criticism possible, in every possible way, designed to bring current order down." How does this "critical theory" get to the rest of the world? Well, in 1933, the Nazis come into power and not surprisingly; they close down The Institute for Social Research. So all its members move to America and once an idea gets to America, it seems the world is polluted with the American ideas. Some members moved into government such as Herbert Marcuse who was the predecessor to the CIA and other members move into Hollywood.
These beginnings of political correctness would mean very little to us today if it weren't for the student rebellions in the mid 1960 's. The students as Lind notes read the book that Marcuse writes, "Eros and Civilization." The students do not have to read lots of heavy Marxism and Marcuse tells them everything they want to hear. Such as, " Do your own thing", " If it feels good do it" and "you never have to go to work." Marcuse was also the man who created the phrase "make love not war." Political correctness arrived at American Universities. Therefore, political correctness's true origins have been forgotten and so people have forgotten what political correctness really is. "Terms such as politically correct thus have a hidden history, uncovering which is dependent both on the accurate recollection of those who were there, " (Cameron, 1995, 78). Now we know where political correctness originated but in order to understand political correctness as a political ideology we have to first look at what politics is and second what an ideology is. Politics is about the distribution of power.
In the Introduction to Social Science course guide it is stated that, "politics can be anywhere." Therefore, politics is in the language we speak. Power is the " ability to do something ", Introduction to Social Science course guide. It can also means "power over", Introduction to Social Science course guide. And it is therefore the ability of society to influence or even force others to do what they want. Ideologies are sets of political beliefs. Ideologies are how people perceive the world and how they want the world to be.
As one writer puts it, "Along with a map of reality comes a picture of an ideal society, " (Mackenzie; 1994; 1). The problem is that different people look at the world differently. It is like the analogy in the Introduction to Social Science course guide. A person wearing pink-lends glasses will see a rose-tinted view of the world whereas someone with yellow lenses would see things in a more yellow perspective. We all believe we are seeing correctly. That is the problem with ideologies.
People see things differently and they all think their view is correct. They are also willing to fight for their point of view as the Introduction to Social Science guide states, "this intense debate has even led to wars." Reality is more complex than this theory can explain and so the result is that the theory and reality clash. How does political correctness fit into all of this? Well, political correctness is about distributing power to minority groups.
It is about placing power in the words we use. Politics is about the distribution of power therefore political correctness is political. Political correctness is the belief that society must use certain words to respect certain groups in society. Political correctness is therefore a political belief and political beliefs are ideologies. Political correctness is about placing power in words. It is a, " trend, a cultural phenomenon, a series of attitudes, " (Molyneux J. , 1993, 43).
Political correctness is a requirement of equal public respect for all ethnic groups, genders, lifestyles, sexual orientations and so on. In practice, it is a demanding requirement that calls for purification of language, symbols, and images and ultimately of thoughts feelings and social institutions. Political correctness is a political ideology. Moreover, as I told you, earlier ideologies lead to wars and political correctness has become a war of words.
The ideology of political correctness to certain people seems necessary. And wouldn't it be amazing if words could create harmony. If people could always say sweet things to one another and never use offensive or insulting language, but excuse the clich'e, " Actions speak louder than words." And this brings me on to my final point. Political correctness is an ideology, which cannot work unless genuine transformation takes place.
Even if people who believe in political correctness succeeded in eliminating offensive actions and language, they can never kill the ideas behind them. In private, these ideas can grow and fester unchecked. In public, the offenders can be identified. When forced to hide these ideas, the offenders will still express them in secret.
When these people are allowed to express their thoughts and opinions in public, the rest of the world is able to watch what they are doing. As Irene Clark (1997) states: " Whether or not we agree with speech codes, such codes explicitly or implicitly, are not entirely new, nor do they prevent racist or sexist thought in private." Political correctness limits people's words and therefore limits thoughts. Political correctness can be compared to Newspeak. Newspeak in George Orwell's novel 1984 was the official language and it was devised to meet the ideological needs of Ingsoc, or English socialism. Orwell stated: " The purpose of Newspeak was not only to provide a medium of expression for the world-view and mental habits proper to the devotees of Ingsoc, but to make all other modes of thought impossible ." This is what political correctness does. It forgets the truth and denies society thoughts because as Orwell noted, when politics gets involved language is the first victim.
Throughout the debates concerning the correctness of political correctness, people often forget what issues are really at stake. Political correctness is in essence an awareness and conscious acknowledgement of other points of view, or even shades of the same point of view. In practice, this is accomplished by what is commonly known as politically correct speech. Through this concern over how we write, read, and speak it means that speech and writing need to be altered to help people become more aware of others.
However, if people's attitudes are not changed then how can political correctness ever be correct? When one tries to consider whether political correctness is in fact correct, we have to look at examples in our daily lives. If, for instance, a man is introduced as, "Mr", you do not know if he is married, and why would you want to know? But if a woman is introduced as "Mrs. " or "Miss", you are in no doubt as to her marital status.
It is out-of-date to expect a woman automatically to accept such a position. It is now politically correct to address a woman as Ms, unless at her specific request. However, just the other day I was at university and I had to fill in a form to donate blood. On this form, I had to circle whether I was a 'Mr. ', 'Mrs. ' or 'Miss'. I scratched them all out and wrote 'Ms'. When I approached the woman who puts the information in the computer she said, "No, you can only be a 'Miss' or a 'Mrs. '." Can you believe that?
That is how political correctness is. It does not work unless people's ideas change. In conclusion, it is clear that Political correctness dates back to World War one and was formed by ideological beliefs. Political Correctness's true meaning has been forgotten. It has become a political movement, which limits thoughts.
Ideologies are political beliefs and Political correctness is exactly that. An ideology, which cannot be correct unless attitudes change. Political correctness is therefore political and genuine transformation needs to take place before it can ever be correct. References: .
Cameron D. (1995) 'Civility and its discontents: language and political correctness"' in Verbal Hygiene London, Routledge, 116 - 211. Clark I (1997) "Writing about Diversity", 369 - 404. Freud B, Hughes H, Moore D, " Introduction to Social Science Course Guide 2 ", University of Natal, 1 - 48. Mackenzie I (1994) " Introduction ' on Eccles hall R et al Political Ideologies: an introduction London Routledge. Molyneux J. (1993) "The 'politically correct' controversy" in International Socialism, Socialist Workers Party, 45 - 71. Orwell G, (1948) "The Principles of Newspeak" An appendix to 1984
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