It's a PC World: What it Means to Live in a Land Gone Politically Correct

by stourton-edward

A powerful weapon against chauvinism and racism? A mark of what it is to be a civilised member of 21st century humankind? Or a joyless ideology that crushes free speech, glorifies victimhood and stops children playing conkers?

As Edward Stourton writes in this timely book the story 'is changing all the time, and, like the best of stories, it is full of unexpected and shocking twists and turns'.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics

262 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Thom Beckett]

Being a BBC presenter, Edward Stourton is not unfamiliar with the world of PC, and the danger that might come should he say the wrong things when on air. Unlike many books of this type, this is not a vitriolic attack on the political correctness, indeed, what he's written is extremely well balanced. He runs through many occasions where the politically correct aims can be dangerous, and counter-productive, but at heart he says:

"like the Siren voices which nearly distracted Odysseus from a true course as he sailed home from Troy, PC-ers have a genuinely appealing song to sing. PC may not be a properly formulated political programme, but it is, in the best sense of the term, a liberal dream, an expression of the conviction that the world can be a better place. At its heart lie very basic and simple aspirations - that we should not be insulted because of the colour of our skin, for example, or suffer discrimanation because we are disabled"

And that doesn't seem too terrible does it?

[Emma Glaisher]

Started off very promising, but by the end I was skimming pages.

Before I started I was very much of the 'PC is just good manners, and PC-gone-mad is mostly bad journalism' camp. I think Stourton has convinced me there are dangers in trying to 'make people think nicer by making them talk nicer'. Like all things, I guess we need moderation.

Of course, there's nothing new under the sun, so I expect we'll swing another way soon anyway.

[Dave Powell]

highly recommended for a more balanced view of the political correctness "wars". A hugely misrepresented field of discourse that definitely requires closer examination, and this book certainly provides that. I posted a video on you tube of stewart lee talking about political correctness and the level of hatred that has been generated by that clip is unbelievable. over 50000 views and i still get e-mails every day advising me of a new comment.

So PC is still a hot topic, and not surprisingly most of the PC stories you here are either grossly exaggerated and miss-represented or completely made up.

[Steve Gillway]

You have to trust the writer enormously, and believe that this to be a vexing area. He struggles manfully (or is it personfully - cheap joke) and in the end fails to nail down the slippery eel the PC most definitely is. It is nice meandering walk on a lovely sunny dayby the side of a babbling brook with a jovial Oxford professor, who has mulled over these issues many times, but finds it impossible to reach any fixed conclusions.

[Douglas]

A fascinating hotchpotch investigating the maze of political correctness in thinking in the UK and the US, mentioning that the French will have none of it, as ideologies are replaced by identities in contemporary thinking.

[Clare]

Sounds like a polemic, but isn't.

[Ian]

Stourton can't quite decide whether he's writing a scholarly tome or an entertainment and he falls deeply between two stools because of that. Too much rambling!