Has Anti-Political Correctness Gone Mad?: The Case of the United Kingdom

The concept of political correctness gone mad has re-emerged in the last decade as a major interpretive framework in the media, routinely drawn upon by (conservative) journalists and indeed politicians. This paper examines not only the arguments mounted by conservative critics of political correctness but also those presented in an influential television programme entitled Has political correctness gone mad? Presented by a prominent figure with considerable experience of anti-racism, the programme argues that PC has become so pervasive that it has regrettably been responsible for Brexit and the success of populist politicians such as Donald Trump. These arguments, which turn out to be closely related to those of conservative critics, are critically examined and found not only to be flawed but deeply misleading. It is not a PC discourse that is dominant but an anti-PC discourse which holds sway. An anti-PC discourse not only facilitated Brexit and the rise of populism but also comprises an ideology which de-legitimises an agenda concerned to promote social justice.