I see PC as a means by which some members of a ruling group try to secure their status within that group by self-righteously condemning other members of the gro

I see PC as a means by which some members of a ruling group try to secure their status within that group by self-righteously condemning other members of the group and the group itself. The PC beliefs themselves are adapted to cowing the spirits of the ruling group and to controlling thought. Only the most virtuous and the most wicked of the group are unaffected by the onslaught. 'Controlling thought' because in order to win the PC contest it isn't enough to memorise what to say, you have to give up control at a deeper level which includes the self-censoring of forbidden thoughts.