Beyond meaning

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A meaningless sentence obviously, but lack of meaning is usually less obvious. Yet for some reason we do not demand that any idea must be meaningful before we are prepared to consider it. Perhaps it is difficult to dismiss ideas as meaningless if they are widely used and have some kind of impact on our own outlook, even a wholly negative ‘what a bunch of morons’ impact.

We have a major problem with mainstream media outlets pushing meaningless ideas from politicians, pundits, journalists and academics. The reason is easy enough to understand – given enough traction, meaningless ideas cannot be attacked effectively. They cannot be dragged into the realm of rational debate because they are safe spaces cut off from reality. Safe careers cut off  from reality too – not an insignificant factor.

To take a topical example, even a cursory knowledge of modern usage tells us that the term ‘racist’ is now virtually meaningless.

Racist
noun
a person who believes in racism, the doctrine that one’s own racial group is superior or that a particular racial group is inferior to the others.

This online dictionary definition is out of date and inaccurate for reasons which are obvious enough so it is worth offering an alternative –

Racist
noun
a person who believes in racism, the doctrine that a particular racial group is more racist than the others.

This latter definition is virtually meaningless but this is the usage we usually encounter in modern parlance. Words change their meaning as usage changes and many people and institutions accused of being racist are not significantly racist in the older and more meaningful sense. The accusations almost always turn out to be malicious, exaggerated or otherwise inaccurate. Dishonest rhetoric sheltering under the shadow of a largely discarded meaning.

In other words the term ‘racist’ has degenerated into a term of abuse rather like the word ‘bastard’. Even context is not a reliable indicator that the old usage still prevails. This is the point – to make political malice meaningless and thereby impregnable.

If we consider the situation for a moment, it seems clear enough that debased language is yet another reason why genuine moves in the political game are made behind closed doors. This appears to be an important role of mainstream media – to keep meaningful political debate behind closed doors. It benefits the media, major political actors and the establishment while we are stuck with meaningless pap.

The problems are many but one of them is surely this – we have built legal frameworks based on a term which has become largely meaningless. As a result, whatever the private consensus there has to be a public presumption that the term ‘racist’ retains its original meaning. This in turn supports a particularly poisonous form of political opportunism. We can’t shake it off.