The purpose of PC

Posted on November 18, 2015 by KG

“In my study of communist societies, I came to the conclusion that the purpose of communist propaganda was not to persuade or convince, not to inform, but to humiliate; and therefore, the less it corresponded to reality the better. When people are forced to remain silent when they are being told the most obvious lies, or even worse when they are forced to repeat the lies themselves, they lose once and for all their sense of probity. To assent to obvious lies is…in some small way to become evil oneself. One’s standing to resist anything is thus eroded, and even destroyed. A society of emasculated liars is easy to control. I think if you examine political correctness, it has the same effect and is intended to.”
― Theodore Dalrymple

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3 Responses to The purpose of PC

  1. Ronbo says:
    November 18, 2015 at 09:18

    We are really talking about DOUBLETHINK here – Orwell was a prophet!

    “Doublethink is the act of ordinary people simultaneously accepting two mutually contradictory beliefs as correct, often in distinct social contexts.[1] Doublethink is related to, but differs from, hypocrisy and neutrality. Somewhat related but almost the opposite is cognitive dissonance, where contradictory beliefs cause conflict in one’s mind. Doublethink is notable due to a lack of cognitive dissonance — thus the person is completely unaware of any conflict or contradiction.

    George Orwell created the word doublethink in his dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984); doublethink is part of newspeak. In the novel, its origin within the typical citizen is unclear; while it could be partly a product of Big Brother’s formal brainwashing programmes,[2] the novel explicitly shows people learning Doublethink and newspeak due to peer pressure and a desire to “fit in”, or gain status within the Party — to be seen as a loyal Party Member. In the novel, for someone to even recognize – let alone mention – any contradiction within the context of the Party line was akin to blasphemy, and could subject that someone to possible disciplinary action and to the instant social disapproval of fellow Party Members.” –Wikipedia

  2. anon says:
    November 18, 2015 at 09:27

    This is old is it not?

    But timely.

    The Mizzou nonsense and “it’s unAmerican to deny these syrian refugees” provide two examples. Of course you were thinking of those and untold others.

    Let’s see a list.

  3. Flashman says:
    November 18, 2015 at 10:48

    In any propaganda audience you get four types of people:

    1. Converted believers – your message is wasted on them. Typically small.

    2. Hardcore disbelievers – your message is wasted on them. Typically small.

    3. Open-minded skeptics – your message can peel layers off them. A good target. A large group.

    4. Closed-minded skeptics – your message is wasted on them, but their indifference will take them down the path of least resistance. A very large group.