OP-ED COLUMNIST
Republicans Against Science
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: August 28, 2011
Jon Huntsman Jr., a former Utah governor and ambassador to China, isn?t a serious contender for the Republican presidential nomination. And that?s too bad, because Mr. Hunstman has been willing to say the unsayable about the G.O.P. ? namely, that it is becoming the ?anti-science party.? This is an enormously important development. And it should terrify us.
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To see what Mr. Huntsman means, consider recent statements by the two men who actually are serious contenders for the G.O.P. nomination: Rick Perry and Mitt Romney.
Mr. Perry, the governor of Texas, recently made headlines by dismissing evolution as ?just a theory,? one that has ?got some gaps in it? ? an observation that will come as news to the vast majority of biologists. But what really got peoples? attention was what he said about climate change: ?I think there are a substantial number of scientists who have manipulated data so that they will have dollars rolling into their projects. And I think we are seeing almost weekly, or even daily, scientists are coming forward and questioning the original idea that man-made global warming is what is causing the climate to change.?
That?s a remarkable statement ? or maybe the right adjective is ?vile.?
The second part of Mr. Perry?s statement is, as it happens, just false: the scientific consensus about man-made global warming ? which includes 97 percent to 98 percent of researchers in the field, according to the National Academy of Sciences ? is getting stronger, not weaker, as the evidence for climate change just keeps mounting.
In fact, if you follow climate science at all you know that the main development over the past few years has been growing concern that projections of future climate are underestimating the likely amount of warming. Warnings that we may face civilization-threatening temperature change by the end of the century, once considered outlandish, are now coming out of mainstream research groups.
But never mind that, Mr. Perry suggests; those scientists are just in it for the money, ?manipulating data? to create a fake threat. In his book ?Fed Up,? he dismissed climate science as a ?contrived phony mess that is falling apart.?
I could point out that Mr. Perry is buying into a truly crazy conspiracy theory, which asserts that thousands of scientists all around the world are on the take, with not one willing to break the code of silence. I could also point out that multiple investigations into charges of intellectual malpractice on the part of climate scientists have ended up exonerating the accused researchers of all accusations. But never mind: Mr. Perry and those who think like him know what they want to believe, and their response to anyone who contradicts them is to start a witch hunt.
So how has Mr. Romney, the other leading contender for the G.O.P. nomination, responded to Mr. Perry?s challenge? In trademark fashion: By running away. In the past, Mr. Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, has strongly endorsed the notion that man-made climate change is a real concern. But, last week, he softened that to a statement that he thinks the world is getting hotter, but ?I don?t know that? and ?I don?t know if it?s mostly caused by humans.? Moral courage!
Of course, we know what?s motivating Mr. Romney?s sudden lack of conviction. According to Public Policy Polling, only 21 percent of Republican voters in Iowa believe in global warming (and only 35 percent believe in evolution). Within the G.O.P., willful ignorance has become a litmus test for candidates, one that Mr. Romney is determined to pass at all costs.
So it?s now highly likely that the presidential candidate of one of our two major political parties will either be a man who believes what he wants to believe, even in the teeth of scientific evidence, or a man who pretends to believe whatever he thinks the party?s base wants him to believe.
And the deepening anti-intellectualism of the political right, both within and beyond the G.O.P., extends far beyond the issue of climate change.
Lately, for example, The Wall Street Journal?s editorial page has gone beyond its long-term preference for the economic ideas of ?charlatans and cranks? ? as one of former President George W. Bush?s chief economic advisers famously put it ? to a general denigration of hard thinking about matters economic. Pay no attention to ?fancy theories? that conflict with ?common sense,? the Journal tells us. Because why should anyone imagine that you need more than gut feelings to analyze things like financial crises and recessions?
Now, we don?t know who will win next year?s presidential election. But the odds are that one of these years the world?s greatest nation will find itself ruled by a party that is aggressively anti-science, indeed anti-knowledge. And, in a time of severe challenges ? environmental, economic, and more ? that?s a terrifying prospect.
Thanks to Pharyngula, I found this academic article titled Why Do Some People Resist Science?. Here are some excerpts and my reactions:
But evolution is not the only domain in which people reject science: Many believe in the efficacy of unproven medical interventions, the mystical nature of out-of-body experiences, the existence of supernatural entities such as ghosts and fairies, and the legitimacy of astrology, ESP, and divination.
And it seems like all of them are my neighbors and co-workers!
There are two common assumptions about the nature of this resistance. First, it is often assumed to be a particularly American problem, explained in terms of the strong religious beliefs of many American citizens and the anti-science leanings of the dominant political party.
If they?re suggesting that?s not true, then how do they explain this?
It amazes me that the that the most rational, and potentially electable republican (Romney) follows a religion that demands special underpants (not joking)......
Hahahahaha, you know that amounts to the same thing as saying all Muslims are Jihadists? It's a bit of a childish argument... You'd figure the extremely old picture of the garment would give it away to common sense, but apparently not...
I serve with plenty of Mormon Marines. I actually showed them this post this afternoon at formation. We all had a good laugh.
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Believers running for office will have to endure a lot from unbelievers. But it mostly applies to Christians, satan has little concern for false religions as he already owns them. Christians as a rule doesn't single out atheists but atheists just can't leave Christians alone it seems to be a supernatural fascination. This campaign season will prove interesting.
Hahahahaha, you know that amounts to the same thing as saying all Muslims are Jihadists? It's a bit of a childish argument... You'd figure the extremely old picture of the garment would give it away to common sense, but apparently not...
I serve with plenty of Mormon Marines. I actually showed them this post this afternoon at formation. We all had a good laugh.
I suggest you read the whole article, yes it starts with history from the past, but it does go to the PRESENT, it is still part of the religion.
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Originally Posted by Eddie_T
Believers running for office will have to endure a lot from unbelievers. But it mostly applies to Christians, satan has little concern for false religions as he already owns them. Christians as a rule doesn't single out atheists but atheists just can't leave Christians alone it seems to be a supernatural fascination. This campaign season will prove interesting.
I mean this 100% seriously, what planet are you living on? no seriously? what the hell? do you even pay attention to what is really going on? to say christians don't single out atheists is flat out absurd. I know you put in the disclaimer "as a rule" what do you mean by that? From being an atheist living in bible country I can telly you have no idea what is going on against atheists from christians.
I mean this 100% seriously, what planet are you living on? no seriously? what the hell? do you even pay attention to what is really going on? to say Christians don't single out atheists is flat out absurd. I know you put in the disclaimer "as a rule" what do you mean by that? From being an atheist living in bible country I can telly you have no idea what is going on against atheists from Christians.
I said as a rule since I suspect some might be provoked into something, or you might site some wacko group like those who picket military funerals. However Christians are fair game for insults from atheists. True even of educated atheists such as Dawkins, he spews venom at believers. I don't call atheists stupid (even when they are), it just ain't nice. Are you really discriminated against for being an atheist?
Atheists, at least the many I've encountered, are some of the angriest people I've come across. They seem very bitter, and spend a whole lot of their time and energy trying to prove something wrong that they don't even think exists. I don't know, it confuses me.
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