“Science and Anti-science” is an article written by Elizabeth Sherman and was published in 2009 after Barack Obama was elected. It illustrates have scientifically illiterate people don’t have a high tolerance to the new scientific discoveries and researches. In her article she wrote: “There is compelling evidence that the Bush administration manipulated data and coerced scientists when the data were not consistent with the administration’s view of the world. I was gratified when President Obama stated that we would “restore science to its rightful place” It is strongly emphasized that political figures use science for their own good.
Under the George Bush administration scientific facts were misleading, scientists were discriminated against, hindering scientists from doing research, allowed excessive animal testing to nuclear energy, and above all that they genetically modified food, which caused major health issues in the American society. This suppression of research was purely ideological than scientific. The Administration did not desire having anything contradicting their policies.
This was not the first case in which political figures abused the scientific discoveries to their own selfish benefits. In the 1940’s atomic power had developed greatly that governments actually made atomic bombs to win the war. In 1945 the United States of America dropped an atomic bomb on Japan in a desperate try to invade Japan. However at that time no one really knew the side effects of atomic bombing. Up till today, the Japanese people are still suffering from the effects of the atomic bomb that has mutated and disfigured their genes.
In the Soviet Union, the government, that hindered the Union from ever achieving economic, political, scientific and social development, strictly controlled scientific research. All research was conducted under the authorization of the government, which didn’t give much funding for the scientists to do their experiments properly to receive accurate results.
In the mid 50’s scientific research conducted that smoking increases the chances of a person getting canser. However the tobacco companies manipulated lab results and advertised medical findings that disprove the findings of liberal scientists and promoted the idea of other alternative causes for lung cancer. The government did not try to raise awareness to the danger of smoking due to the fear of multinational-tobacco companies withdrawing from their state and thus slightly affecting the economical state of the country.
The Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler a program to produce a “pure” German Race. The experiment was called ‘Racial Hygiene”. Through forcing some scientists to emigrate from Germany, because they refused to conduct the research due to their ethics and morals, and assigning scientists who support the ideologies of the Nazis they succeeded at this experiment. The research was purely conducted to serve the ideology and not for the purpose of scientific discoveries.
Politicization of Science