‘POLITENESS’ AS CATEGORY OF SOCIAL CONTROL
Mukesh Devrari Politeness functions as a controlling category in the Western World, it discourages antagonistic positions and wishes compliance without seeking any retaliatory or opposing perspective. This is a fundamental cultural difference between western and eastern societies. Excessive use of politeness as a preferred category limits the opportunities for the culture of expressing free opinion and dissent to flourish. It stunts the creation of an argumentative society that could contribute immensely in creating a truly democratic society. Politeness is also essentially a method of manifesting the class differences. Imagine a work environment where people who belong to different classes constantly work together in a group, not only in virtual proximity but also in physical proximity. Let’s take the example of hospitals. How a doctor, pharmacist, nurse, cleaner and security guard can be different from each other if all of them can speak only one language, eat similar