Why Do They Do It?
By As Elon Musk and an army of COVID-deniers and the bear cub boy destroy the US’s scientific and academic wealth, we need to think about why they are doing something so destructive to both its soft and its economic power. Derek Lowe, a chemist who writes a blog for Science magazine, has thoughts. I mostly agree with him. It’s at least a reasonable way to think about their worldview.
1. These people are here to deliberately destroy the federally funded science agencies as we know them. This is not an accident and not a misunderstanding on anyone’s part. That is the goal. The ideologues of the Trump administration are reflexively hostile to what they see as the “Deep State”, defined as longtime government staff of all sorts, and they are particularly hostile to agencies that generate what they feel are findings that obstruct their own agendas. Safety regulations of all sorts, environmental concerns, climate change, and of course anything that comes within a million miles of suggesting that some groups in society have historically been put at a deliberate disadvantage relative to others: all of it has to go. Anything that is not explicitly in support of Trump policies could turn out to be against them; better to toss it all out the window. These things get in the way of exercising power and making money. Whatever “good stuff” gets thrown out in the process is merely an insignificant roundoff error, in their minds, compared to the greatness and importance of the main task.
2. They are also hostile to the very idea of real data. People with this mindset (and you can find them both on the left and right ends of the political spectrum) do not even believe that agenda-less data are possible. In this view, everyone, every time, everywhere is pushing one point of view or another, so now that you have the levers of power in your ands it’s time to push your own agenda as hard as you possibly can. Part of that is getting rid of anything that might sow uncertainty or say otherwise. Those so-called “independent” data scientists are liars who are trying to stop you. Anyone who says anything that does not completely support your program is a liar who is trying to stop you. And you know what to do with them.
3. To these ends it is permissible to say and do anything, anything at all. These ends justify any means – really, anything you can think of. You do not have to be consistent, nor rational, nor in accord with anyone else’s so-called “facts”. Facts are what you say they are – I mean, what else could they be? It’s fun to watch the funny little people tie themselves in knots trying to figure out the reasons behind your barrage of ever-changing statements and bleating about “contradictions” and “missteps”. Let ‘em spin in circles. Words are just noises that you make with your mouth to make other people do what you want. If one set of mouth-noises doesn’t do the trick, you try others.
4. The central fact of any organization is that there has to be a big boss who gives the orders. Your own worth as a person depends completely on how big a boss you are, that is, what you can make other people do. How many people jump to attention for you? How many will repeat whatever you say? How many people will spend all their time carrying out your wishes no matter what they are? This ties in with the above points about all that “data” and “independence” stuff: you are there to get your boss’s views stamped upon the world, and your underlings are there to get yours handled the same way. Some guy in an old book said that the purpose of power is power, and what else is there to say? When you’re right, you’re right. You say that people have been ignoring you or saying that you’re wrong? You’re at the thick end of the whip now: it’s boss time, time to make them pay.
It’s tempting to psychologize this, but this very operational description works for thinking about strategies to counter them or later to repair the damage. And Lowe doesn’t want it to be all despair:
Obviously I can’t just leave it at that level of despair. What is to be done? Public, visible opposition is key: a good part of all this big-boss bullshit is making it look like everyone agrees with you and/or no one dares oppose you. Break that illusion! Break it every chance you get. Do it in print, do it in public. Make more people aware of what’s really going on, and make others feel as if they can speak up in turn. Protest up the levers of political power, too: if your representatives or Senators are Democrats, make it clear to them (by calling in person) that you expect constant, fierce opposition or you will support their next primary challengers. If they are Republicans, call them up and tell them that there are a lot of voters in their districts who think that they’re doing the wrong things for the long reasons and that more people are coming to that conclusion every day. Remind them of the angry mobs that are showing up every single time a Republican officeholder dares to hold a public event with their constituents. Remind them of the president’s ever-sinking poll numbers and ask them why they’re tying themselves to such a sinking ship. Put some electoral fear into them; it’s the only way. And if you can, contribute your own funds to efforts like independent journalism, to the organizations that are taking the administration to court at every turn, and as we get closer to the midterms (speed the day) to efforts to throw as many Trump-supporting officeholders out as possible. You’ll feel better, and you’ll be doing good.