SURE, BUT LOOK WHAT HAPPENED WHEN WE REFUSED TO LIMIT PHLOGISTON EMISSIONS...:

The rise of scientific authoritarianism: The megalomania of James Hansen of NASA shows how ‘climate expertise’ can undermine democracy. (Roger A Pielke Jr, 2/18/09, spiked)

One of the leadng lights in the demand for action on climate change, James Hansen of NASA, wrote an op-ed for the Observer last Sunday, which, more than any other piece of his that I have seen, expresses his political philosophy. In a phrase, that philosophy can be characterised as ‘scientific authoritarianism’.

Scientific authoritarianism, as I am using it here, holds that political decisions should be compelled by the political preferences of scientists. It is a very strong form of the ‘linear model’ of science and decision-making that I discuss in my book, The Honest Broker. Hansen believes that the advice of experts, and specifically his advice alone, should compel certain political outcomes.

He opens his op-ed with this statement: ‘A year ago, I wrote to Gordon Brown asking him to place a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants in Britain. I have asked the same of Angela Merkel, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd and other leaders.’

Collectively, Brown, Merkel, Obama and Rudd lead about 500million people. The idea that one person’s policy views should carry so much weight in democratic societies is an indication that Hansen believes that expertise should carry decisive weight in decisions. Hansen is not even a citizen of Germany, Australia or the United Kingdom, so the mere fact that he is asking the leaders of these countries to act based on his say-so is an expression of scientific authoritarianism.

Rather than making the case for his preferred policy, Hansen’s argument includes his complaint that policymakers have not followed his advice, which Hansen seemingly believes should take precedence over all other views. Indeed, he dismisses the views of the public as being too poorly informed, too distracted or unsophisticated to contribute to decision-making on the climate issue: ‘The public, buffeted by weather fluctuations and economic turmoil, has little time to analyse decadal changes. How can people be expected to evaluate and filter out advice emanating from those pushing special interests? How can people distinguish between top-notch science and pseudo-science?’

Mr. Hansen accidentally stumbles into the fundamental point there.

Posted by Orrin Judd at February 19, 2009 8:04 AM