Populism Is Everywhere
Steven Hahn’s article “The Populist Specter” [Jan. 28/Feb. 4] provides a clear and much-needed analysis of this distressing phenomenon. One area that is barely mentioned, however, is the populist influence on the academic disciplines, especially science. The populists’ disdain for political and business elites also extends to scholarly “elites.”
The resulting movements include quack health faddists, anti-vaxxers, and climate deniers. The latter two are especially troubling, as they threaten public health and the global environment, respectively. Most of these science deniers have no training in, or knowledge of, the science that they reject but, under the populist doctrine, such ignorance is irrelevant.
Unfortunately, The Nation has not always been innocent in this regard. For example, in your November 5, 2007, issue, the late Alexander Cockburn asserted that…
