The politicizing of science

San Gabriel Valley Tribune ^ | 12/25/2009 | Thomas Sowell

[ricks_place]

SCIENCE is one of the great achievements of the human mind and the biggest reason why we live not only longer but more vigorously in our old age, in addition to all the ways in which it provides us with things that make life easier and more enjoyable.

Like anything valuable, science has been seized upon by politicians and ideologues, and used to forward their own agendas. This started long ago, as far back as the 18th century, when the Marquis de Condorcet coined the term "social science" to describe various theories he favored. In the 19th century, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels distinguished their own brand of socialism as "scientific socialism." By the 20th century, all sorts of notions wrapped themselves in the mantle of "science."

"Global warming" hysteria is only the latest in this long line of notions, whose main argument is that there is no argument, because it is "science." The recently revealed destruction of raw data at the bottom of the global warming hysteria, as well as revelations of attempts to prevent critics of this hysteria from being published in leading journals, suggests that the disinterested search for truth - the hallmark of real science - has taken a back seat to a political crusade.

An intercepted e-mail from a professor at the Climate Research Unit in England to a professor at the University of Pennsylvania warned the latter: "Don't any of you three tell anybody that the UK has a Freedom of Information Act" and Advertisement urged the American professor to delete any e-mails he may have sent a colleague regarding the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

[ricks_place]

Maybe the Obama Recession is caused by Global Warming, excessive spending on Global Warming. Global Warming has sucked up massive funds and has taken the national and world attention away from the business of business. The opportunity costs are massive.

[sionnsar]

There’s FAR more intelligence in “military intelligence” than there is science in “climate science.”

[okie01]

Global Warming has sucked up massive funds and has taken the national and world attention away from the business of business. The opportunity costs are massive.

Excellent point. So-called "green ventures" are soaking up investment capital with no hope of returning a profit without massive subsidies. The hoax is encouraging a gross misdirection of time, money and effort.

[Pontiac]

Among the intelligentsia, there have always been many who are ready to jump on virtually any bandwagon that will take them to the promised land, where the wise and noble few - like themselves - can take the rest of us poor dummies in hand and tell us how we had better change the way we live our lives.

The high priest of the Globalist Environmentalist Church are having Tent revival and want you to have a come to Gia moment.

[Bhoy]

good points. Especially how much money has aleady consumed — which we’ll not even be able to calculate.

[skinkinthegrass]

Global warming is the new Lysenkoism.

[Mister Da]

The West could be in big trouble if the IPCC & Co. are not only wrong on Global Warming, but very wrong. If the climate continues getting colder as it is now, people & gov’ts may be totally unprepared to weather the change, literally.

With the coal & oil industries being so vilified by the Left, they may be unprepared to provide the extra fuels necessary to keep people from freezing to death. A lot of people could die before Obama, the UN, & the scientists are willing to admit they are wrong & do things like allow more drilling & mining, & approve more refineries & nuke plants.

[SunkenCiv]

This topic was posted on Christmas Day, on Christmas Day...

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