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Political correctness

By David Leyonhjelm - posted Monday, 13 June 2016


This is not consistent with a free society. It is also deeply unpopular with many Australians, and apparently with many Americans too. Donald Trump makes a point of showing the extent to which he does not care about political correctness, with a significant chunk of his support coming from that characteristic alone.

What is wrong about the whole idea of regulating feelings is that different things upset different people. It's subjective. Although feelings can be influenced by external factors, ultimately they are a matter of personal choice. No matter how ill-informed or obnoxious the words, our reaction to someone else's words is always up to us.

Unless words are coercive – threatening, misleading, or forcing us to do something against our will – we are solely responsible for how they are received. Obliging other people to share in our chosen feelings of offence is petty and trivial.

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Politicians and other public figures ought to be judged robustly on their policies and honesty in public life. Arguments should be assessed on merit, not on who makes them or whether the words prompt someone to take offence. Nobody – prince, politician or pauper – should be judged for engaging in peaceful (even if vigorous) political debate.

We need more "inappropriate" speech in public life, not less.

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This article was first published in the Australian FInancial Review.



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David Leyonhjelm is a former Senator for the Liberal Democrats.

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