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Political Correctness as a Form of Social Control

-- By MichaelCurtis - 12 May 2012

Introduction

Throughout the semester we have talked about many different forms of social control and tyranny. We discussed institutional social control (the law) and other informal social norms, such as table manners. I think that one of the greatest forms of social control today is political correctness. Few people are immune from the reach of political correctness. Even comedians who cut their teeth with provocative acts today are vulnerable to condemnation and censure. One would think that in the world today, there would be a move against political correctness. After all, we live in an age of instant, pervasive information. Everyone carries with them a video camera that can capture a video in an instant and share it with the world just as fast. There are few places where one can go without being documented, tracked, and recorded. One viral video has the power to label someone a bigot, a tag that will be affixed to their online identity and follow them forever. There is no erasing the internet, where today most charges of political incorrectness are made.

Language

Idiot, imbecile, and moron are words that today are characterized as nasty and mean spirited. It was not always this way. They once were neutral words used to identify levels of mental deficiency. After a few cycles in the nomenclature, the words became unacceptable. They had to be replaced with something less derogatory and more politically correct. Their replacement? Retard. Obviously that word is unacceptable today, and it has been replaced. The word midget went through a similar metamorphosis, changing from a descriptive word into an unacceptable pejorative.

In 1999 David Howard was forced to resign from his position as an aide to the mayor of Washington DC. His departure was prompted by his use of the word ‘niggardly’ to describe a budget. Niggardly is defined as miserly or cheap and in that sense it was an entirely appropriate adjective to attribute to a budget. The controversy stemmed from the fact that word niggardly is phonetically similar (but otherwise unrelated) to perhaps the most offensive word in the English language. The situation was best summed up by columnist Tony Snow, who wrote that Howard’s critics "actually demanded that he apologize for their ignorance."

Who decides what words are acceptable and which are not? Those who complain the loudest. Society does not acquiesce to these people’s delicate sensibilities because they are empathetic to their plight. Instead, they censor themselves and each other because of the terrible consequences associated with noncompliance.

The Machine

When something impolitic is stated, you can bet that someone will express outrage. More often than not it is someone completely and totally uninvolved with the original statement. There is no shortage of people and/or interest groups willing to step up and demand an apology for a perceived slight. There are countless examples of this practice in both in politics and in celebrity culture. The offending parties are bullied into making forced, sweeping apologies that are often grossly disproportionate to the slight wrong they may have committed. Every now and then public pressure will force an offender to offer monetary support to related interest groups and/or “volunteer” their time. Whether the outrage is genuine or feigned is immaterial because both minor and major transgressions are treated almost identically. Major transgressions differ only in that they will spurn calls for resignations, firings, and ostracization.

Who is protected?

Table manners are such an effective form of social control because of wide acceptance and self policing. Political correctness is different. The policing is centralized and the only acceptance is in the acknowledgement that the practice is unlikely to fade away. Politicians, interest groups and the media have a giant stake in the continuance of political correctness. Interest groups stand to gain national exposure and cultural relevance, as well as monetary donations from offenders and sympathetic citizens. Political correctness gives politicians new opportunities to characterize the opposition as heartless and devolved. The media, operating under the pressures of a 24 hour news cycle, is desperate to find controversies to fill the air time. But I think that society as a whole is different. Generally, people are not as melodramatic and easily offended as those in power. We can acknowledge that people are sometimes crass, rude, or offensive without comical overreaction and pandering.

Consequences and Conclusions

Today businessmen must not only take account for their own words, but may also be held responsible for the actions and words of people with whom they do business. Everyone no doubt remembers the voracious calls for the boycott of Rush Limbaugh’s advertisers. Companies like Carbonite and the Sleep-Number Bed ran advertisements on Rush’s show for one reason: to reach his large swath of followers who might want to buy their products. They didn’t run advertisements to make political statements but the were treated as if they were. A large and loyal group of potential clients were declared unapproachable by third parties with no financial stake in the matter. These third parties sought to shrink Rush’s coffers, but they shrank the coffers of his former advertisers as well. Advertising on his show was a profitable venture for them; otherwise they would not have been there to begin with. Shortsighted political and moral victories for sure have an effect on the economy. I don’t know how such an effect can be quantified but my gut says that the net effect on the economy, and on society, is negative. We would be better served if we stopped feigning indignation at every expedient opportunity.

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Eben, I have not yet received feedback from my first paper. Thanks. -Mike

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