For centuries Britain has been a beacon of liberty of thought,
belief and speech, but now the freedom of its intellectual and
political life is being subjected to a subtle form of
'censorship', according to a new study of political correctness
published by the independent think-tank Civitas.
Anthony
Browne argues in The Retreat of Reason that political
correctness, which classifies certain groups of people as
victims in need of protection from criticism and allows no
dissent to be expressed, is poisoning the wells of debate in
modern Britain.
'Members of the public, academics, journalists and
politicians are afraid of thinking certain thoughts' (p.xii).
Political correctness started in academia, but it now dominates
schools, hospitals, local authorities, the civil service, the
media, companies, the police and the army. Since 1997 Britain
has been ruled by political correctness for the first time. 'The
Labour government was the first UK government not to stand up to
political correctness, but to try and enact its dictates when
they are not too electorally unpopular or seriously mugged by
reality, and even sometimes when they are' (p.34).
Anthony Browne describes political correctness as a 'heresy
of liberalism' (p.2) under which 'a reliance on reason has been
replaced with a reliance on the emotional appeal of an argument'
(p.6). Adopting certain positions makes the politically correct
feel virtuous, even more so when they are preventing the
expression of an opinion that conflicts with their own:
'political correctness is the dictatorship of virtue'.
Whether an argument is true or not is a secondary
consideration to whether it fits with the PC view of the world:
'In the topsy-turvy politically correct world, truth comes in
two forms: the politically correct, and the factually correct.
The politically correct truth is publicly proclaimed correct by
politicians, celebrities and the BBC even if it is wrong, while
the factually correct truth is publicly condemned as wrong even
when it is right. Factually correct truths suffer the
disadvantage that they don't have to be shown to be wrong,
merely stated that they are politically incorrect. To the
politically correct, truth is no defence; to the politically
incorrect, truth is the ultimate defence. (p.7)'
Anthony Browne gives some examples (p.8) of factually
incorrect arguments that trump factually correct ones, because
they are PC:
|
Issue |
Politically Correct Truth |
Factually Correct Truth |
|
Women's pay less than men's |
Sex discrimination |
Different work/life choices, childcare breaks |
|
Explosion in HIV |
Teenagers having unsafe sex |
African immigration |
|
Rise in anti-semitic attacks |
White skinheads |
Muslim youths |
|
Africa getting poorer |
West not giving enough aid |
Bad governance |
He argues that PC is much more than just a dispute about
words, or the hope of avoiding hurtful expressions: it leads to
an incorrect analysis of real problems, which means that the
wrong solutions are attempted. People suffer as a result:
'Black communities are encouraged to blame racist teachers
for the failings of their boys at school, rather than re-examine
their own culture and attitudes to education that may be the
prime reasons. The poor sick have ended up having worse
healthcare in Britain than they would in mainland Europe because
PC for long closed down debate on fundamental NHS reform.
Women's employment opportunities can be harmed by giving them
ever more rights that are not given to men. The unemployed are
encouraged to languish on benefits blaming others for their
fate. Poor Africans are condemned to live in poverty so long as
they and their governments are encouraged to blame the West for
all their problems, rather than confronting the real causes of
poor governance, corruption and poor education'. (p.xiv) The end
of political correctness?
Political correctness is the invention of Western
intellectuals who feel guilty about the universal triumph of
Western values and economic prosperity. However, threats to the
influence of the West may bring political correctness to an end:
'Political correctness is essentially the product of a
powerful but decadent civilisation which feels secure enough to
forego reasoning for emoting, and to subjugate truth to
goodness. However, the terrorist attacks of September 11th 2001,
and those that followed in Bali, Madrid and Beslan, have led to
a sense of vulnerability that have made people far more
hard-headed about the real benefits and drawbacks of Western
civilisation'. (p.84)
Even the long-unrivalled economic dominance of the West will
come under challenge from the newly flourishing economies of
India and China. Westerners will stop feeling guilty about their
position when it has to be defended against rival cultures and
ideologies. Anthony Browne lists several steps that could be
taken to limit the malign influence of political correctness
before it does further damage:
-
Free speech should be protected with an equivalent of the
first amendment to the US constitution
-
A binding referendum should be called on any proposal if
supported by a certain percentage of the population. Such
'citizens' initiatives' return power to the people,
encouraging ordinary citizens to re-engage with the
political process
-
Un-PC groups should be formed and promoted to oppose PC
flag-wavers like left-wing charities. A taxpayers' alliance
could argue for lower taxes; a homeowners association could
campaign on issues affecting homeowners, like council tax
and crime
-
There should be more objective teaching of the history of
the West. Foundations should be set up to preserve and
promote the Western heritage and values (pp. 86-7).
'In the long run of history, political correctness will be
seen as an aberration in Western thought. The product of the
uniquely unchallenged position of the West and unrivalled
affluence, the comparative decline of the West compared to the
East is likely to spell its demise. Finally, Western minds may
be free again to reason rather than just emote, to pursue
objective truth rather than subjective virtue'.
