I talked with a person (with a MEng so the person was not the village idiot and should be able to read a newspaper) at a "pre-party" last year and we started to discuss politics. Just to test the water on how well informed this person was i asked:
What do you think about this "insert political party"?
The answer was;
they are racists and people who vote for them are racists.
Me: What policies that they propose makes them racists?
The person:
I dont know.
Me:
Then how can you say that they are racists?
The person:
My friends say they are and "insert social media celebrity" does not like them.
People like these are not uncommon and more and more people get their opinions from social media and other institutions with a PC culture.
Has politically correctness gone mad?
I think mad is the wrong word here. The correct word would be "counterproductive". Allan Blooms book
"The closing of an American mind" in 1987 was an "attack" on how the american higher education was becoming too PC thus being a barrier for discussion, critical evaluation etc... Not making up their own educated opinions, but the society/educations creates their opinion.
The same is the case in the modern western society today. Having opinions that are perceived as not "PC" is something you should not voice in a public forum (social media, news, schools and general education, politics, public discussions). And this is to some degree censoring opinions. People nowadays have prejudice towards either the left or the right, and this becomes a filter for what the other part is actually saying. Limiting opinions and voices in a debate (both left and right) limits the potential solution space. It is like in product developement: You do not want a team with people from one profession trying to find a solution. You want a team with people from different professions and specializations thus having the biggest possible solution space. PC today limits the "participants"/debate and is a hindrance to open discussion/Progress etc.
NB! I'm not saying that all opinions and people should be encourage to take part in discussions, as there are some opinions that have solid emperical evidence to support it or deny it.