The War on Science. Shawn Lawrence Otto
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PRAISE FOR THE WAR ON SCIENCE
“Otto makes a case that can’t be refuted. Science is important to all of us, especially in a democracy. He backs it up with peer-reviewed studies, carefully researched numbers, and his own extensive experience. He uses the process of science to prove that we need science in order to remain free. Here’s hoping voters everywhere take him seriously—soon.”
—Bill Nye
“We’re seeing right now a titanic battle between the power of science and the power of money—and money is winning. This book explains why, and offers some pointers that might get us back on the right track.”
—Bill McKibben
“Science is not a body of facts, but rather a structured approach to uncovering the fundamental laws that govern the natural world. As The War on Science shows, policymakers who choose to ignore those fundamental laws imperil us all, for the laws of nature will always trump the laws of man.”
—Marcia McNutt, president of the US National Academy of Sciences
“This insightful, heavily researched book pulls back the curtain to show exactly where and how the rise of authoritarianism is being accomplished, via academic, fundamentalist, and public relations attacks on scientists and the ideas of science that underlie modern democracy. The War on Science is must reading for anyone wanting to understand what’s really going on in today’s politics.”
—Michael E. Mann
“Evidence from science is one of the world’s great equalizers, because it forms an objective basis for public policy. This book illustrates how central that notion is to the forming of modern democracy, and how current attacks on science endanger our freedom. Policymakers and voters everywhere would do well to read The War on Science.”
—Walter Mondale
“In the struggle of people to be free, there has been one common denominator on which democracy, like Sherlock Holmes, depends—science, and the evidence it provides, as a guide to truth, fairness, and justice. This insightful book explores how science became a necessary prerequisite for democracy, why it is under attack today, and what we can do to defend truth and freedom.”
—Maria Konnikova, author of Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes
“Before you vote in the next election, read Shawn Otto’s The War on Science.”
—Ben Bova, award-winning author of the Grand Tour series and former editorial director of Omni
“The War on Science dissects the factors creating a perfect storm of anti-intellectualism, persuading millions to actively vote against their own interests. This is not a book that will convert Limbaugh dancers. But it just might help you to draw that smart engineer uncle back toward the light. It might even encourage such fellows to join a newborn movement, reviving a science-loving version of conservatism out of the ashes.”
—David Brin, scientist and award-winning author of The Transparent Society: Will Technology Force Us to Choose between Privacy and Freedom?
“One of the most important books published in the last decade.”
—Don Shelby, Peabody Award–winning news anchor
Also by Shawn Otto
Nonfiction
Fool Me Twice:
Fighting the Assault on Science in America
Fiction
Sins of Our Fathers
© 2016, Text by Shawn Otto
Parts of this book appear in Fool Me Twice: Fighting the Assault on Science in America, published by Rodale in 2011.
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher: Milkweed Editions, 1011 Washington Avenue South, Suite 300, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55415.
(800) 520-6455
Published 2016 by Milkweed Editions
Cover design by Mary Austin Speaker
Author photo by Erika Ludwig
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First Edition
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Otto, Shawn Lawrence.
Title: The war on science: who’s waging it, why it matters, what we can do about it / Shawn Otto.
Description: Minneapolis, Minnesota: Milkweed Editions, [2016] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016002797 (print) | LCCN 2016009938 (ebook) | ISBN 9781571319524 (e-book)
Subjects: LCSH: Science--Political aspects. | Science--Political aspects--History. | Science--Social aspects. | Science--Social aspects--History.
Classification: LCC Q175.5 .O88 2016 (print) | LCC Q175.5 (ebook) | DDC 303.48/3--dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016002797
Milkweed Editions is committed to ecological stewardship. We strive to align our book production practices with this principle, and to reduce the impact of our operations in the environment. We are a member of the Green Press Initiative, a nonprofit coalition of publishers, manufacturers, and authors working to protect the world’s endangered forests and conserve natural resources. The War on Science was printed on acid-free 100% postconsumer-waste paper by Edwards Brothers Malloy.
To the underdogs
Contents
Foreword by Lawrence M. Krauss
PART I
DEMOCRACY’S SCIENCE PROBLEM
One | The War on Science
Two | The Politics of Science
PART II
THE HISTORY OF MODERN SCIENCE POLITICS
Three | Religion, Meet Science
Four | Science, Meet Freedom
Five | Gimme Shelter
Six | Science, Drugs, and Rock ’n’ Roll
Seven