Reactionary Contemplations

One note about the Enlightenment itself (as opposed to the "Enlightenment Civilization" I've postulated in this blog), is that the "rights" involved in the Enlightenment philosophy are procedural rights, not social rights. There seems to be a new tide of thought that purports to build upon Enlightenment thinking, and it's a dangerous tide.

What I mean is this: the Enlightenment generally addressed the relationship between governments and citizens. This new movement, often termed "political correctness" by its detractors, addresses the relationship between citizens and citizens.

In Enlightenment thinking, "rights" have to do with objective standards of legal treatment: one ought not to be jailed for opinions, divine right does not exist, governments should be democratic, etc.

In the newer "PC" thinking, measures are being taken to affect some of the very fundamental rights that the Enlightenment sought to protect, in the name of equality or health. For example: business owners are being forced not to allow smoking in the business owner's private property -- even if the business owner wants to allow smoking in the establishment.

I'd like to add to this topic at some point .....