Thread by @shrikanth_krish

Political correctness is a major malaise afflicting discourse in our times.

Wiki defines it in a rather restrictive way-

"the language, policies, or measures intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in society"

But I feel this is not accurate

A broader definition of "Political correctness" would be -

"Any surreptitious attempt to modify the style of public discourse so as to render politically inconvenient talking points unacceptable on one's own political side"

The reason I feel the second definition is broader and more capacious is because it covers all forms of political correctness and not just the SJW type.

There is a tendency to associate political correctness mainly with the Left. And that's understandable, given the Left-wing dominance in academia and the media and given that much of public discourse is driven by liberal voices

So the first definition largely covers all forms of "left wing political correctness".

Some examples -

a) Overlooking evidence against climate change
b) Ignoring studies that may suggest some "cultures" may be better than others

Contd..)

c) Ignoring evidence that may question subaltern understanding of power equations in history that leverage the prism of class / caste to construct grand narratives

d) Suppressing discourse that questions the efficacy of deficit spending

One can go on

But there is also "right wing" political correctness that conservatives must guard against

PC culture is not the sole proprietorship of the Left. It often afflicts the Right too. Which is why I broadened the definition to include right wing PC in the second tweet

Some examples of RW political correctness can be

a) Being defensive when some religious practices get questioned / challenged

b) Overlooking evidence that may question free market dogma. Eg: A study may suggest that minimum wages don't result in unemployment. Do we suppress it?

c) Discouraging certain historical views that may be uncomfortable or unfavorable to Nationalist narratives (even if new evidence supports those views).

Eg: What if some new evidence comes to light that conclusively proves Aryan Migration theory?

Do we try to suppress it because it doesn't fit well with the particular flavor of nationalism we wish to promote?

These are uncomfortable questions.

I am a conservative myself. And yet, I can see how I am susceptible personally to many such forms of Right wing political correctness.

While Political correctness today mainly cripples the Left, the Right is not immune to it. It could well become an equally big problem on the Right in future.

So it is important to be aware of the blindspots which we never notice when PC culture afflicts our own thinking, while we are quick to point out PC culture on the side of our opponents.

While we are all entitled to strong political opinions, we must learn to introspect once in a while to ensure we are not guilty of the very things we hold our opposition guilty of.

The thoughts on this thread on Left wing vs Right wing political correctness provoked by this wonderful conversation between Tyler Cowen and Claire Lehmann, the founder of @QuilletteM

medium.com/conversations-…