" politically correct " : summary on wed , 21 sep 1994 , i posted the following query : > in vol . 5 . 1022 rex a . sprouse wrote > > in terms of the politics of the discussion [ of the term > " informant " ] , i think that in the united states we have seen a > kind of orwellian development with the use of the term > " politically correct " as a pejorative term . > > based on dim personal recollections , my sense of the latter term > is that " politically correct " first surfaced in english in maoist > literature . there it was used with a straight face , since > correctness was viewed as being , like everything else , subject to > constant definition and redefinition by the party . i recall > feeling that this world-view implicit in the phrase was so > contradictory to democratic ideals that only a person who accepted > political authority over truth could possibly use it without > ironic intent . > > does anyone have any more concrete data on the history of this > politically loaded expression ? > i received replies from eight people ; i reproduce them below . i apologize for the long delay in publishing these . mark a . mandel dragon systems , inc . : speech recognition : + 1 617 965-5200 320 nevada st . : newton , mass . 02160 , usa : mark @ dragonsys . com p . s . : this document was dictated with dragondictate v2 . 0 . = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = i first heard " pc " ( in the relevant sense ) in one of two ( possibly three places ) : hartford courant , new york times , chicago sun - times . there was a story relating to an incident where a job applicant was being interviewed for a job . he was denied . there was some question as to why - - this is before affirmative action helped explain such matters . he demanded to see all relevant materials . he inquired into the significance of the comment written at the bottom corner of his application " not pc . " he was a conservative . it " came out " that it meant not politically correct . whether there was legal action , i do n't know . these are the best of my recollections of the story i read years ago . as for myself , i do n't know whether it is pc to deny that pc is pc , or to invert the current meaning , or to deny it makes any sense . until it is cleared up . i will not broach the matter with my superiors . i do n't have to , it is a free country : / steven = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = the term seems to have entered common use in anglophone canada first of all as social democrat teasing of the maoists and the stalinists for their pomposity . " correct analysis " could be used in the same way , as in , " you have the correct analysis , comrade , " for " i agree with you . " this could be said only to other socialists , of course ; the totalitarian left never got the joke . " politically correct " was - and in safe company still is - used by the democratic left in self-mockery , as in : " we have politically correct fruit salad tonight , _ no _ california grapes . " the term seems to have become pejorative as it has been taken over by people who are incapable of seeing the comic side of their own ideals . = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = but notice that today the american right uses the term as a pejorative term for virtually any notion with any kind of ethical motivation . in so doing , the right derides not maoism , but the ideology of classical liberal democracy society , where redefinition does not occur by the party running a one-party state , but by free and open exchange of ideas , and where ethical concerns ( as well as pragmatic concerns ) are relevant . rex sprouse [ whose comment prompted my original question - - mam ] = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = i imagine the list is going to be inundated with opinions about political correctness for a while now . it should be interesting to see how the linguistics community feels about this issue . i ' m young enough that i was completely unaware of the connection of the term with maoism . i can tell you , however , that it is currently being used on college campuses by certain groups with no ironic intention . nowadays , what is politically correct is anything , particularly language , that is not sexist , racist , heterosexist , lookist , ageist , ableist , etc . the groups fighting these - isms tend to use the term quite straightforwardly to refer to what they believe is the only accepted way to be . it seems to me that the current situation mr . sprouse mentioned has resulted from the near-fascist enforcement tactics of these special interest groups and the mangling of language that pc results in , rather than any historic reasons . benjamin moore japan electronic dictionary research institute ltd . kawasaki , japan ben @ edr5r . edr . co . jp = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = a few years ago when reading krushchev 's secret speech in which he denounced stalin for the first time ( at the 1956 communist party congress ) , i noticed the use of a term in russian that could be translated as " politically correct . " while denouncing stalin , krushchev maintained a belief in the " politically correct " - - which stalin obviously was n't . = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = re : mark mandel 's inquiry about the origins of " politically correct " : ric dolphin 's not politically correct ( 1992 ) confirms mark 's belief that the term originated in the thoughts of mao tse tung . dolphin states that its first use in the u . s . was by angela davis in 1971 when she argued that there could be no " opposing argument to an issue which has only one correct side . " then in 1975 , the then-president of the national organization of women said that organization was moving in " the intellectually and politically correct direction . " the 1971 quotation seems to confirm mark 's view that only those who accept political authority over the quest for truth could use the term with no ironic intent . = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = i first heard " pc / politically correct " in the early 80s used wryly and humorously about themselves by people trying to live lives of some modicum of independence from agribusiness and the consumption of fossil fuel . i was really sorry to see it turned from gentle humor to the grim tool it has become in the hands of demagogues . f . karttunen v = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = dear mark , i do n't know where the term " politically correct " first entered english , but the etymology you give would certainly be consistent with my experience . back in the early ' 80s i knew " politically correct " as a term that leftists might use to poke fun at those whose ( putatively leftist ) politics seemed too doctrinaire . later , various writers , commentators , and politicians hostile to the left seized on the term as if it had been used seriously - - in other words , as if there had been leftists ( in the us ) who applied the term to themselves without irony . now , what had been something of an inside leftwing joke has been turned into a weapon brandished against the left . for example , in 1982 , say , a leftist might have blown off steam about some dogmatic person or organization by characterizing her or it as " politically correct . " but now i hear the term used by non-leftists , often to evoke an image of rigid leftist / multi-culturalist / academic types taking over our institutions and seeking to control our minds - - as if such a move were afoot , and as if the left had that much power . at this point , if " politically correct " ever regains an ironic connotation , perhaps it will be as a word that makes fun of the political right . for example , sometimes i hear people call each other " commie " or " pinko " in a manner whose real intent is to make fun of the prejudices of anti-communists . i could imagine that " politically correct " might one day be used similarly . sincerely , seth