Stop Using This Word
Proactive. It's an ugly word, both in sound and appearance. In its strictest definition it means dealing aggressively with an impending difficulty, performing some action in advance to prevent catastrophe. It also can be considered the opposite of the word "retroactive". Despite its eschatological implications, this word is bandied about in business and politics as if it is some form of punctuation. Simply put, the word itself is used in situations that it is unsuited for. Stripping words of their meaning (or diluting their true representational idea) sucks--it cheapens the language and makes us all dumber for it, while it devalues the essence of what the word is supposed to express.
In perusing the news today, I found the word used in a story about the massive computer information theft that occurred with US credit card users; it was also used in a story about how the US congress is prepared to force the issue with the administration as far as bringing the troops home from Iraq. Any Google search will give the searcher untold conceptual permutations of the word, but strangely it seems that regardless of the application the result is the same. Basically the word is now some sort of linguistic band-aid or space-taker, giving the impression of gravity and seriousness while not explaining anything at all.
Proactivity is usually associated with oppression or oppressive people--it's a favorite concept of military assholes the world over, and it's also a big hit in the world of finance. Since these two professions spend more time crafting disinformation strategies than making true statements, it's easy to see why such a non-specific buzzword like proactive can find so many useful applications in these worlds.
It's no big revelation that George Orwell was onto something when he came up with the concept of Newspeak in 1984--but what is insidious about words like these is how many different mental associations now arise in conjunction with the use of the word. Proactivity can now be interpreted as a positive concept due to its constant misuse, instead of the pessimistic original meaning of the word. It has become a weird substitute and synonym for preparedness and foresight, when what the word really has to do with is control and prevention. A word that might best be described as "pre-emptive reactionary action" now is offered to us all as a word that implies a patient and thoughtful solution to a looming problem.
Say it with me--proactive is a stupid, stupid word. Somehow it has mutated in the current of the river of language, leaving behind some half-formed conceptual morass that now implies that the person or thing described as "proactive" is now firmly in charge of its own destiny and fiercely protective of itself and its interests. Sounds to me like the word is now the equivalent of headstrong selfishness. No wonder Republicans like this word so much.
In perusing the news today, I found the word used in a story about the massive computer information theft that occurred with US credit card users; it was also used in a story about how the US congress is prepared to force the issue with the administration as far as bringing the troops home from Iraq. Any Google search will give the searcher untold conceptual permutations of the word, but strangely it seems that regardless of the application the result is the same. Basically the word is now some sort of linguistic band-aid or space-taker, giving the impression of gravity and seriousness while not explaining anything at all.
Proactivity is usually associated with oppression or oppressive people--it's a favorite concept of military assholes the world over, and it's also a big hit in the world of finance. Since these two professions spend more time crafting disinformation strategies than making true statements, it's easy to see why such a non-specific buzzword like proactive can find so many useful applications in these worlds.
It's no big revelation that George Orwell was onto something when he came up with the concept of Newspeak in 1984--but what is insidious about words like these is how many different mental associations now arise in conjunction with the use of the word. Proactivity can now be interpreted as a positive concept due to its constant misuse, instead of the pessimistic original meaning of the word. It has become a weird substitute and synonym for preparedness and foresight, when what the word really has to do with is control and prevention. A word that might best be described as "pre-emptive reactionary action" now is offered to us all as a word that implies a patient and thoughtful solution to a looming problem.
Say it with me--proactive is a stupid, stupid word. Somehow it has mutated in the current of the river of language, leaving behind some half-formed conceptual morass that now implies that the person or thing described as "proactive" is now firmly in charge of its own destiny and fiercely protective of itself and its interests. Sounds to me like the word is now the equivalent of headstrong selfishness. No wonder Republicans like this word so much.
posted by alyosha mcbain at 9:51 AM
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