— No, it’s not what you think.
Many times, I’ve read blanket condemnations of Republicans as being anti-science, with the creation vs evolution “debate” trotted out as proof. Moving past the false conflation of Republicanism with creationism or intelligent design (there are certainly hordes of non-Democrats who accept the validity of the theory of evolution), lets contemplate the premise that the Democrats are the party of science and reason, fighting an eternal fight against superstition and denial of reality.
Belief that evolution is the mechanism by which life on this planet has developed and propagated and that species, including humans, have come to be is an acknowledgment that competition and “survival of the fittest” are real phenomena that produce positive and desirable results. Anyone see the problem here? Aren’t we CONSTANTLY harangued by statists that the free market, laissez-faire, unfettered and unregulated competition are bad things that produce bad results? Isn’t the statist solution to everything the imposition of order from on high? Isn’t at the very core of so much that our government does the belief that caring legislators should empower wise regulators to “intelligently design” laws and systems that govern our lives? Isn’t the root premise of entities like the Federal Reserve, the SEC, the USDA, the Departments of Education, HHS, HUD, the Interior, et al “intelligent design?”
Yes, obviously, there’s a difference between the intelligent design belief of creationists (an omnipotent Creator designed everything) and that of statists (a bunch of the Best and Brightest should design everything). But, evidence is overwhelming that the Best and Brightest haven’t been all that successful over the decades. Government screw-ups and mis-steps are much too numerous to catalog, and there are piles of empirical data that show how past “intelligent designs” have failed to achieve the desired results and, worse, have spawned all sorts of unforeseen adverse consequences. At least the creationists get to have a guy at the top who is smart enough not to make all those mistakes.
Belief in science must, MUST include a willingness to recognize failures and an overriding motivation not to cling to them. Yet government makes the same mistakes, over and over again, and statists insist on pursuing and doubling and tripling down on failed ideas and policies. Want just one example? Head Start. The government’s own analysts’ studies demonstrate that it accomplishes nothing, that by 3rd grade there’s no measurable difference between Head Start kids and non-Head Start kids. 45 years and $166 billion worth of “intelligent design” swirling down the rain. But, what does the head of the party that declares itself the defender of science do? Call for increased funding and deride those who say this utter waste of a program should be curtailed or done away with.
Cognitive dissonance is not an uncommon phenomenon in statists. It can certainly explain the dyspepsia of the Angry Left and individuals like Chris Matthews, but there are so many examples of hypocrisy and dissonance in big government and among big government politicians (and many (cough Republican cough) pols who claim to be small government but are all too happy to hog at the trough under the “right” circumstances e.g. when their party’s in power) that there clearly must be something in these people that wards off the discomfort of having conflicting ideas rattling around in their heads.
Occam’s Razor tells us we should choose the simplest answer that sufficiently addresses the question. In this case, I think the simplest answer is that these people who wrap themselves in the blanket of science aren’t the noble defenders of truth and reason they claim to be. What, then, might we call them? P.J. O’Rourke called them whores. Seems appropriate.
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