Quote Originally Posted by Cletus View Post
That is not really what it is about, at all.

It is about the reality that language is a critical component of civilization. Clear, concise communication is essential to the efficient functioning of society. A strong command of the language is also an indicator of intellect and education.

Most people who use words incorrectly are not doing so in an attempt to change the meaning of the word. They do it unwittingly because they don't actually understand the meaning of the word they are using or it sounds similar to the word they actually meant to use. Their misapplication of words stems from ignorance or laziness or both.

We're not really talking about people using words incorrectly. If I talk about capitalism as the collective ownership of the means of production and distribution, why then I am clearly misusing the word. No, what I'm talking about here is that the meaning of a word is not so precise as a dictionary definition. A Marxist might talk about capitalism meaning the oppression of the workers by the owners and I might talk about it as the free market and a dictionary won't settle who's right and who's wrong because we're both being meaningful within the contexts we speak. Given that, I do agree that "Clear, concise communication is essential to the efficient functioning of society." We have as speakers a responsibility to see out ideas communicated. Someone insisting they are right in an argument because a word means just what he says it does, is not really communicating.