Let me first say that this title caught my eye because I believe that is based upon a spurious premise. There have always been struggles between the various forces in society, but science as we know it has only existed for a few hundred years, and the role of science in society as a whole did not begin until science entered the public education system in the early part of the twentieth century. Nineteen hundred years before the sciences entered the public school curriculum, and thus became part of society as we know it, all of the forces we commonly recognize as social struggles existed in the Roman empire. Rome had a representative government implemented as a senate, Rome had a system of gods and religion, Rome had military leaders on continuous expeditions of conquest, and an oppressive system of taxation. Given that every element of human struggle is documented in the New Testament, what role might there be for science to enter the fray almost 2000 years later?
Well it seems there are many fronts. It seems that ever advancing industrialism has devoured the environment to the extent that tracking the devastation to the planet has become synonymous with science. I agree that the term global warming, that was originally chosen for climate change was misleading and unfortunate. Desertification would have been a better term, at least as it applies to the African continent.
But, although climate change has become a hot button, it is really not at heart of the struggle that religious authoritarian forces are waging. Authoritarians battle education itself. Authoritarians refer to people who are the result of the education system, and who respect the education system “liberals”. They then further define liberals as those who are out to destroy society for their own devious delight.
Within the education system it is the sciences that are the prime targets. Authoritarianism relies on indoctrination as gaining control over society. In respect to issues in which there are two sides to be considered, authoritarian docterine always decrees that one side is right and one side is wrong, and no further consideration is necessary. There are many examples. The idea that people might form labor unions and bargain collectively is liberal and subversive. Labor unions are the target of authoritarian tirades nightly on such authoritarian media outlets as Fox News. Once a doctrine has been decreed, and anointed as being conservative, all further discussion must be suppressed. Examples abound, and include the environment, health care, various types of research, particularly stem cell research.
Science, on the other hand is an epistemology, or way of knowing, that is based upon the concept of objectivity. Objectivity is the antithesis of bias, and implies that a particular outcome or finding can be true or false depending upon data collected or observed. That scientific concept of objectivity and falsifyability is seen as a threat to those who wish to rule by doctrine and indoctrination.
An example of a policy that is implemented on a scientific epistemology of objectivity is the testing of a potential new drug candidate. For example, if medical scientists think that a particular drug has a potential to fight cancer, they might perform trials in a “double blind” manor. That is, neither the medication providers or the patients know if they are receiving the real drug or a placebo, and only a third party has the complete information as to who received what. As the data is collected, the third party analyzes it to determine if there are statistically verifiable differences between the control and the test groups to quantify potential benefits of the treatment as well as potential harmful side effects. If in fact it becomes obvious to a third party that the drug is dangerous, or clearly beneficial, the trial can be ended early.
Authoritarians fear that if more aspects and policies of government were run on this basis, society would become more rational. Rational thinking is the real enemy that authoritarian forces in society fear, and they believe that destroying science is necessary in order to destroy the public education system in general.
Not only the United States, but the whole world is in a serious crisis right now. The only way out is to do a whole lot of rational thinking, and hope that leads to clear solutions. There are many examples. We have a fossil fuel energy crisis, so forward thinking business and government agencies are cooperating to explore and implement new technologies such as solar and wind power. Automotive companies are producing hybrid automobiles and busses as a way to stretch gasoline and diesel fuel. All of the potential solutions to today’s global crisis in some way depend on science.
The very title of this article implies that there are people out there who believe that science is the enemy. I hope that those who see science as an enemy or opponent in society will take some time off from their nightly dose of Fox News authoritarian double speak and do some rational thinking about solving the global crisis that the Bush administration has beset the world with.
