Political Correctness

However you feel about it the doctrine of political correctness, designed to combat discrimination against certain "identity groups", has become one of the key ideologies that govern the world of the twenty-first century. As such it merits close, and even-handed, analysis. Is it as harmful as its critics insist, or as benign as its proponents would have us believe?

This book asks what it is; how it came to be so prevalent; whether it is the quirk of a minority or an imperative which all of us should subscribe to. What does the future hold for it, and therefore for us? Will there be, or is there already taking place, a reaction against it, and will that backlash succeed? What are the implications for society if it does? Is it a myth in the first place? Most importantly, is it guilty of its own misconceptions and prejudices? The conclusion is that it is, while not being entirely harmful, and that trouble may result if it is not reformed.

Guy Blythman is the author of Philosophy: A View From The Edge and The Bigger Picture: Essays In History and Politics.