True elite should fight odious polarization and not allow itself to be painted into a corner by the neo-parochialism of political correctness.

Sir, Rana Foroohar writes: “there’s research to show that elites are less likely to part with their biases than the ordinary person. This is probably because they believe themselves to be better educated and informed than the masses, which may well be true. “The elites are ignoring deglobalisation” August 15.

If we include bank regulators as part of the elite (they would hate it if we don’t), these do indeed find it very hard to part with their biases. It is sad because they’ve gotten it totally wrong.

You ask them: Why do you want banks to hold more capital against what is especially dangerous for our bank system because it is perceived or decreed as safe, than against what is perceived risky and therefore poses no threat? Their eyes glaze over and they never answer, except for when they make it as if they’ve heard a coTmplete different question.

The direct consequence of those risk weighted bank capital requirements is plain awful. It only guarantees, especially large exposures, to what’s perceived as especially safe, against especially little capital, dooming our bank systems to especially severe crises. 

Forrohar asks: What is the next big thing the global elite is missing?

My answer would be it is missing out way too much on how polarization and redistribution profiteering, among other empowered by low cost and far reaching social media, is creating odious social divisions that will tear it to pieces.

What could de elite do? To begin with, find ways to restrict those peddling opinions for money (donations). Whenever something exploitable in terms of polarization happens, my inbox is swamped by donation requests to allow the favored anti-devil-champion of turn to enter into battle and save us.

Recently Lawrence Summers in “I discovered the rest of America on my summer holiday” described America’s small communities’ parochialism with “The conversations we overheard hewed close to local matters.”

In the discussion of the article on the web I commented “Political correctness, that which only allows focusing on small-predefined sections of an issue, rather than allowing considering its wider context, is a living example of a neo-parochialism you find in universities and big cosmopolitan cities”

Sir, a true elite does not allow itself to be painted into a corner by political correctness.

Red and blue, or, red or blue

@PerKurowski

Political correctness is just another type of authoritarianism that can also bring on revolts.

Sir, Gideon Rachman writes, “In 1989, liberal and nationalist causes were allied in the struggle for democracy in eastern Europe. Now the two ideologies are opposed. The battle between liberalism and nationalism is being waged internationally. It is also unfolding on the streets of small towns in Germany.” “Protests in Germany echo beyond borders” September 4.

No! I do not think this is a battle between liberalism and nationalism, although that might be what polarization profiteers want us to believe. That because there are a lot of “nationalists” that are true liberals, but only wish that some outlier expressions would be somewhat more considerate to their national traditions and interests.

For instance, with respect to migration, is it wrong, for a German, a Swede or any other national, to make a difference between those migrants who believe that “When in Rome do as Romans do”, and those believing “When in Rome I do as I bloody want to do”?

I would say no, but have the moral besserwissers allowed Europeans thinking so? No!

Rachman holds: “Germany has long nurtured as a bastion of liberal values.” Again that is what those defining in the public debate what the liberal values are, wants us to believe. Some of the out of this world liberal values, do not have it in them to ever become bastions… I hope.

Sir, sincerely, I feel sorry for all those minorities who I will not name, but who have been led and egged on by political correctness profiteers into overplaying their cards. When the tide turns, many nationalists will be there for them… again within reason.

PS. Political correctness could, in the best of cases, be a type of Neo-Victorianism... but, unfortunately, it seems more to have become the Neo-Inquisition of our days.

 @PerKurowski

What’s 100% political correct has not even to be close to real feelings on Main Street

Sir, Gideon Long strangely thinks it is important to quote one obscure member of an unconstitutional assembly that represents perhaps less than 15% of Venezuelans with “If you think of invading us we’ll make [the] Vietnam [war] look small,” and then to describe that this member’s shouts “earned him a rapturous standing ovation”. “Trump threat ‘lets Maduro blame US for his woes’” August 14.

To reaffirm the validity of that Long refers to a poll in which “9 per cent of respondents felt the crisis would only be resolved by foreign military intervention”.

Suppose instead a poll asking: “If foreign military intervention was the only way to get rid of the current regime, (as Long quotes a Venezuelan woman believing) would you approve of it?” The way I read the feelings in my homeland (albeit from a foreign land), that question would be responded affirmative by a majority of Venezuelans.

Of course if that would happen, once the necessity has been removed, Venezuela’s Main Street would most probably, sort of thanklessly, again align itself to more political correct attitudes and blame Yankee imperialism for much. C'est la vie! 

PS. The way Gideon Long transmits information about Venezuela makes me think he might be one of those who can't resist a lefty talking purty.

@PerKurowski

Imposed political correctness is a form of subliminal authoritarianism that can also breed revolt

Sir, Gideon Rachman writes: “What is it that links the erosion of support for democracy in countries as diverse as Russia, the Philippines, South Africa and even the US? It is that for many voters democracy is a means to an end, not an end in itself. If a democratic system fails to deliver jobs, as in South Africa, or security, as in the Philippines, or is associated with a stagnation in living standards, as in the US, then some voters will be attracted to the authoritarian alternative”, “The stamp of authority gains in appeal” February 21.

That is true, but Rachman also follows up with: “A drift towards authoritarianism will become more likely, in the context of rising inequality, when the political and economic system seems “rigged” in favour of insiders.” And that is not necessarily the absolute truth… it is mostly the correct current convenient political truth.

As I see it much, not all, of what is going on, is a rebellion against the authoritarism of political correctness. There are too many instances when ordinary people are not allowed to express ordinary human concerns, without risking being referred to in derogatory terms… and that hurts and  accumulates resentments that can explode.

@PerKurowski

Holier than thou extreme political correctness causes incorrectness, and that is only human

Sir Gideon Rachman quotes Der Spiegel with “Germany these days is a place where people feel entirely uninhibited about expressing their hatred and xenophobia.” “The end of the Merkel era is within sight” October 27.

I do no know about Germany but, when I visited Sweden earlier this year, what I felt was a lot of inhibitions to express even the slightest indication of not being fully comfortable with many foreigners in their small cities, many of them in public places begging.

Clearly not being allowed to vent normal human reactions builds up pressures that, sooner or later, will make humans explode.

@PerKurowski ©

To solve its immigration concerns, in harmony, Europe needs to free itself from all preachy political correctness

Sir, I refer to François Heisbourg’s “France cannot indulge the xenophobes on immigration” August 28.

Heisbourg writes: “The question of immigration, a visceral issue… is driving a wedge between EU populations and their governments, between member states and indeed between the EU itself and the values on which it was founded.”

And in order to bridge the gap he suggests EU “a response to the immigration crisis that lives up to rather than falls short of its values…most EU member states… are not providing the systematic right of asylum to which war-refugees are entitled under international humanitarian law or by common decency.” “Europe’s leaders need to live up to our responsibilities as humans and as neighbors, assume part of the burden, and talk straight to the electorate.”

What straight talk is he talking about? That the deliberate conflation by demagogues of immigration, the refugee exodus, the spread of Islam and jihadi terrorism is as emotionally powerful as it is factually spurious”, and that therefore Europeans have no moral right to feel humanly uneasy about immigration?

That is precisely the type of holier than thou political correctness, a Neo-Inquisition, that serves as growth hormone to extremist movements.

If anything politicians who want to build bridges, need to share the concerns, not negate their existence or outright condemn their validity; all in order to then proceed to openly discuss what can be done. For instance, should there be a limit to how many immigrants Europe can accept the next-decade, and if so, what number… 10 million, 100 million or no limit at all?

My age group, and those older of course, have basically seen world population triple during our lifetime. One way or another, that sole fact tells us there are some changes going on that, for good or for bad, were perhaps not embedded in our values.

If you think I am just another political incorrect who is against immigration, I invite you to visit my:

http://theamericanunion.blogspot.com

PS. On the other side of the pool, where would Donald Trump be, if he had no political correctness trampoline to jump on?

Let people vent their concerns!

@PerKurowski

Political correctness is a society-wide groupthink that can be very dangerous.

Sir, In the Shrink and the Sage’s “Can we get used to anything?” of May 16, the Sage mentions “society-wide groupthink”. And the best example of current society-wide groupthink I can think of is “political correctness”.

I just came back from a week in Sweden. There I heard many expressing to me, in sotto voce, sort of ashamed, sort of “don’t tell anyone about this”, some very ordinary and human concerns about there being too many migrants and about the risk they felt that could dilute their meaning of being a Swede.

My immediate thought was that political correctness, if it blocks this way citizens from venting their concerns, then it must be a dangerous powerful growth hormone for extremism.

In other words, if you use a “That’s like Hitler” in response to too many of people concerns, then too many might end up thinking “That Hitler guy sound’s quite right for me”.

Let us never forget that the emotions involved in the not liking something for the wrong reasons, are just as strong as that of the not liking something for "the right reasons".

PS. My father suffered years of concentration camp because of Hitler. I don’t remember him saying, “That’s like Hitler” about anything or anyone… perhaps because he would never want to diminish Hitler’s evilness to something being sharable.

@PerKurowski