making sense of PC

We all notice how our society has aggressively subjected us to "political correctness." Seinfeld recently said he was no longer going to college campuses because the PC police made humor into something ugly. 

Where does this PC obsession come from anyway? More importantly, what is its ultimate effect on our society?

First, political correctness is just a contemporary term that captures the human need for legitimacy. Most people conform to social norms to be liked, not right. Regardless of what factors drives social norms, most individuals will strive to be PC in order to be seen as OK. You can only be blamed if you try something out of the mainstream and fail and shame can only occur when one fails to be seen as legitimate.

It just so happens that since WWII the determinants of social norms have fallen into the hands of politically liberal institutions (education, government, media, entertainment, and religion). This has created a norm of tolerance, unless you disagree with the politically liberal position, then you are shamed. Throughout the history of mankind and forever forward, there will be an emphasis on being PC. It just so happens the norm makers of today value the absent of absolutes. The presence of 24/7 news and social media makes the policing of PC more prevalent and effective. 

The above applies to the more macro society. What about sub cultures? I would suggest the evangelical church has their own PC. Why is it churches split? Denominations form? What about the way public education operates? Do they have their own PC? Political correctness is the manifestation of the human need for legitimacy, in what ever form that takes. Actually, product branding leverages this need and creates a form of PC.

Second, what are the consequences of PC? Research shows that the need for legitimacy over the need to be right stifles creativity and change. Inertia to the norms penalizes thinking outside the box and those individuals who tend to operate on the edge. "Brown nosing", not rocking the boat and challenging the status quo, is how you get accepted and even get ahead. 

The bogging down of growth and progress and the advance of tyranny is the result. Organizations and institutions get bloated and tend to go down the toilet over time, not transform so they can reach to the mountain tops. 

Ultimately the norms collapse and new ones replace them and PC starts all over again, only a different PC.