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In today’s Never Just Science, I look at one of the more surprising consensus statements of 2020: Science is Political. https://neverjustscience.substack.com/p/all-together-now-science-is-political
The sentiment itself isn’t surprising, but scientific leaders’ willingness to say it out loud is. A few data points, starting with the @sciam endorsement: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientific-american-endorses-joe-biden1/
The @nejm stopped short of an endorsement, but still published a broadside against T*$^p: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2029812
The @aaas’s 501(c)3 status presumably limits @sciencemagazine’s ability to issue endorsements, but this summer the magazine ran an editorial titled, bluntly, “Science Has Always Been Political.” https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6501/227/tab-pdf
Joe Biden knows a new constituency when he sees one: https://twitter.com/joebiden/status/1313273767301316610
We haven’t seen this level of political engagement from scientific institutions in the United States since the Vietnam Era. I, for one, find this very exciting! Recognizing the existence of your political power is a necessary first step in activating that power.
But now for the harder part: What will scientists use that power for?
Nature’s editorial presses the case for “restoring normalcy,” for countering the harms done to scientific institutions. SciAm’s more inclusive endorsement lays out how the Trump administration’s rejection of science has damaged the public at large.
Surprise, surprise, this is an argument about the role of expertise in a democracy! But to even have this debate, you have to acknowledge that science is political. The endorsements are a starting point, not an end point, to scientists’ political activation.
What comes next is anybody’s guess. Labor organizing? Participation in a general strike, should one materialize? Solidarity with climate justice organizers? More sector-based lobbying? Anything is possible, if scientists are willing to have the conversation.
