Nathan Confas and his research team propose a different explanation. They
suggest that increasing levels of skepticism towards scientific
institutions is partly a reaction to the politicization—namely, the
liberalization—of these institutions.
The distrust is not driven
by all scientists, but rather by what Confas and his team refer to as
“impact scientists.” These are researchers, typically working in the
social sciences and environmental science, who often conduct research
with the stated goal of raising awareness of left-liberal issues, or
acceptance of left-liberal policy solutions.
“There is a strong
possibility that conservatives are not opposed to, or skeptical of,
science per se. Rather, they lack trust in impact scientists whom they
see as seeking in influence policy in a liberal direction,” explains
Confas.
He points to the field of sociology as an example. A recent study
surveying 479 sociology professors discovered that only 4 percent
identify as conservative or libertarian, while 86 percent identify as
liberal or left-radical.
[RELATED: STUDY: Only 2% of sociology profs identify as conservative]
The
unstated goal of sociology, Confas suggests, “involves reorganizing
society to fight inequality, oppression, poverty . . . .
hierarchy, and the
like. Its ideological orientation arose out of…civil rights, feminism,
Marxism, and other progressive movements.”
Most sociologists would claim, in good faith, to be objective. But emerging research suggests that the political slant in the field is corrupting objectivity, due to a variety of issues including confirmation bias and scholar-activism in the field.
“Taking
the easy route isn’t something that I or my coauthors are tempted to
do. We want to do our part to help correct the science,” Confas told Campus Reform.
“Conservatives
are right to be skeptical,” he added. “Take any politicized issue that
is connected to some disagreement about scientific fact. I do not
believe there is a single case in the last couple decades where a major
scientific organization took a position that went against the platform
of the Democratic Party.”
“What an odd coincidence that ‘science’ always, without exception, supports the liberal worldview,” Confas observed.
Text taken from Campus Reform, here .
