Politically Correct Econo-cide

It’s getting harder and harder to exaggerate the madness of politically correct thinking, because political correctness keeps trumping itself on the way to the looney bin. The latest example comes from – where else? – Europe, where the Norwegian government is apparently contemplating economic suicide to make certain that the right percentage of women hold executive positions.

Norway has said it might close down companies that fail to meet proposed boardroom quotas for women.

The new coalition government in Oslo said it was considering introducing a law which would require 40% of boardroom posts to be filled by women.

Norway's previous government drew up the law, which it threatened to apply if companies failed voluntarily to meet minimum quotas by 1 July this year.

Only a fifth of Norway's 590 publicly listed firms comply with the quotas.

"It's not going fast enough," said Karita Bekkemellem, Norway's minister for family and children.

"I don't want to wait 20 or 30 years until sufficiently intelligent men finally appoint women to the boardrooms."

She added: "I wish to establish, from January 1 2006, a system of sanctions which makes it possible to break up companies."

Well, Ms. Bekkemellen, the Norwegian people might wish to reconfigure their government to purge it of dangerous fascists like you. But that’s only if the Norwegian people have any sense, something very much in question these days.

To mandate the exact gender composition of business entities and then to enforce that requirement represents a totalitarian way of thinking about government that should be shocking to Western Europeans and Americans. What should be more shocking is that insane ideas like this are receiving serious consideration. But the idea that the state should determine the outcome of every social transaction has been ascendant in Europe for the past century. This is merely its logical outcome. If Norway glibly decides to destroy its economy in the name of political correctness, no one should be surprised.