The March of Ignorance
Prejudice and ideology have always held sway in political debates, and some would suggest it is ridiculous to imagine it could be otherwise. But as the lines of politics and science soften - as in the social sciences, education and public health - the impulse of those in power to promote their own cherished views is gaining ground over the disinterested rigor of scientific method. This is a problem of both the left and the right as each tries to validate its own irrational theories, often at the expense of powerless populations of citizens, patients or students.
When political ignorace takes place on a grand scale, as happened recently, you can chalk it up to some kind of "big lie"-style propaganda or mass hysteria. It's much worse in the millions of little cases where so-called experts who should know better are either the perpetrators or the victims of these crimes against reason. Read this fascinating and disturbing article for a detailed account of how the intellectual foundations of our civil society are being blown to bits by small-time fanatics, academic con-artists and lazy, dishonest scholars.
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