The communication of ideas in our world takes place primarily through language—both written and spoken. Over time, language inevitably changes, either intentionally or accidentally. Words assume alternate and sometimes unrelated meanings. In no other area of society is this distortion of language both as profound and as unnoticed as in the realm of politics.
From the thinking of philosophers to the tinkering of public officials, from party platforms to campaign speeches, the amazing abilities of language cannot be overestimated. Rulers and those seeking to rule can convey passion and patriotism; they can deceive their countrymen and lead entire populations to dark places they never knew existed. A totalitarian’s most frequently used means of control, wrote F.A. Hayek, include “the complete perversion of language,” and “the change of the meaning of words.”
One of the grossest language perversions has been the besmirchment of the word “liberal.” Especially in the United States, “liberal” now possesses a meaning entirely different than—and in many ways, diametrically opposed to—its meaning of an earlier time. In Liberalism, Ludwig von Mises, a self-described liberal, demonstrated that the entire liberal school of thought is extrapolated from the notion of private property rights.
Read more: http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/business-living/2013/may/19/distortion-language-politics/#ixzz2TpmWFzaK
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