SELF-CENSORSHIP IN PUBLIC DISCOURSE - A THEORY OF POLITICAL CORRECTNESS AND RELATED PHENOMENA

Uncertainty about what motivates ''senders'' of public messages leads ''receivers'' to ''read between the lines'' to discern the sender's de epest commitments. Anticipating this, senders ''write between the line s,'' editing their expressions so as to further their own ends. I exam ine how this interactive process of inference and deceit affects the q uality and extent of public deliberations on sensitive issues. A princ iple conclusion is that genuine moral discourse on difficult social is sues can become impossible when the risks of upsetting some portion of one's audience are too great. Reliance on euphemism and platitude sho uld be expected in this strategic climate. Groups may embark on a trag ic course of action, believed by many at the outset to be ill-conceive d, but that has become impossible to criticize.