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The Retreat of Reason: Political Correctness and the Corruption of Public Debate in Modern Britain (Second Edition)

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Author: Anthony Browne
Publisher: Civitas:Institute for the Study of Civil Society
Category: Book

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Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

12 reviews
Sales Rank: 12066

Media: Paperback
Edition: 2Rev Ed
Pages: 121
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.5

ISBN: 1903386500
Dewey Decimal Number: 320
EAN: 9781903386507
ASIN: 1903386500

Publication Date: April 10, 2006
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New. Shipped from UK Mainland. Delivery is usually 2 - 3 working days from order by Royal Mail, International Delivery is by Airmail.

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Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

More of the same please May 19, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

I am a former member of the PC Brigade and I found this book an excellent introduction to countering PC arguments.

I am not against all aspects of PC but it has now become a bloated, arrogant,dishonest and ironically very intolerant creed. I realised that I no longer wanted to be PC when I saw so called liberals marching around London with placades saying " We are all Hezbollah now ". I suppose a placade stating " we are all medieval, homophobic, anti-semitic, misogynst, intolerant religious fascists now " would have been unwieldy.

Once a realised I no longer believed in PC I wanted to learn how to counter PC arguments and this book fits the bill as a primer.However Browne offers counter arguments to many of the dogmas of PC without stooping to the name calling the PC crowd now unfortunately uses in place of honest debate.I am still in favour of equality for women, gays and ethnic minorities and so is the author. It is the bullying dogma, dishonest and sometimes downright stupidity of many PC arguments that has driven me away from it. After reading Brownes book I know I am not alone.

3 out of 5 stars

Polemic? I think not. January 31, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Whilst an interesting read, there is little in terms of content that I found to be particularly controversial. Perhaps, as Browne suggests in his final few pages, this is indicative of the demise of the PC ideology; I certainly hope so. This is very much an essay rather than a work of any great intellectual rigour but one that I would suggest is worthy of the investment of a few hours of one's time.

5 out of 5 stars

Excellent, essential reading December 29, 2007
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

A brilliant book that should be read by anyone with an interest in the issues it addresses, The Retreat Of Reason is written in a very accessible manner and can be digested quickly. The author makes his points succinctly and intelligently. He is a beacon of wisdom in this land taken over by madness, as sponsored by an appalling government.

There should be a copy of this in every library in Britain and in every MP's office in Britain. But of course that won't happen. Why? Political correctness!

4 out of 5 stars

An almost perfect account of PC's origins October 16, 2007
9 out of 10 found this review helpful

Perhaps not surprisingly, Browne's political pamphlet has received some fairly stinging attacks - always a great way to draw attention (and sales) to it. Julian Petley has written a discourteous review of The Retreat of Reason and regrettably fallen foul of concentrating on the odd factual error in an effort to divert attention from many of Browne's arguments.

PC thought and action though has evolved to the point that the "common" people - not just academics or our former liberal elite - are regularly touched by it. Anyone who has been unfortunate to have become a victim of crime will invariably encounter PC (sic) behaviour from their local police - often in their sheer lack of interest in pursuing the perpetrator. When citizens deal with local authorities, the NHS, and even many commercial organisations (such as Sainsbury's) they'll encounter PC behaviour at some point.

Browne explores the origin of PC and knocks over some of it's foundations (with relative ease it has to be said.) He points out the now-regular conumdrums that PC-literate folk suffer from, almost constantly - when they have to somehow balance their strict morality with its consequences - pointing-out the likes of Ken Livingstone - formerly known for promoting equality in all forms, but who will quite happily invite a Muslim scholar to London who calls for the murder of gays and the formal chastisement of women.

One element of the book rankles with me - Brownes almost puppy-like love of big corporations and enterprises. These are the organisations that have willingly shipped technology abroad (to Communist China for instance) and hopelessly failed to invest in skills and training for decades. Brownes lavish praise for capitalism might be out of step with some readers who are (like me) a little skeptical of its so-called triumph.

Browne though pulls his punches. The knots that PC folk get themselves into have led to our former left-wing and liberal elite falling into the maw of facism in recent years - an observation regularly pointed-out by commentators like Nick Cohen and the former Leftist David Horowitz in the US. Enchanted with a desire to challenge Western concepts in all forms, PC has moved from its Marxist heritage to occupy the ground that those around in the 1930's would have recognised as distinctly facist. Thus we see so-called "Lefties" demanding the introduction of Sharia Law (through the SWP/Respect) whilst the likes of Peter Tatchell are frantically discouraged by those who are desperately floundering with their moral compasses.

PC's greatest failure is to rob society of the liberal elite and left-leaning individuals that would have protested for our freedoms of expression, encouraged (proper) equality for women and gays and fought off the siren call of facism. Now, because of PC, that generation has been lost and we are none the better for it. Browne points out that we will need a new Age of Elightenment to repair the damage that PC has done - but those who used to work to change the Establishment have now become part of it.

5 out of 5 stars

Excellent September 25, 2007
17 out of 17 found this review helpful

This book is a very informative text for anyone who wishes to understand more clearly the effects of the Political Correct culture that has swept across our land over recent years.

Browne discusses in detail the objectives of the Political Correct elite and how this plague has driven an infection into the very heart of a once free speaking nation. Using strong examples and a thorough understanding of current events and social behavior this book gives the reader an interesting insight into debate and the suppression of debate that we are currently faced with.

The effects of PC culture that is so strongly enforced by our media and government are clear when we see how individuals have to behave day to day to ensure they are not offending some group or other. Browne brings home his point when introducing hypocrisy in PC culture, misleading statistical evidence to support PC objectives and the new victim culture that is so evident in today's society.

This is an excellent read and one which should certainly put a few noses out of joint. More of the same please!!