Arne O. Holm says Politicians Plant Disdain of Science in Their Voters
From the discussion of the future of science during the Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavik. From the left: Dr. John Holdren, Professor Dame Angela McLean, Abdulla Al Mandous, and Katrin Jacobsdottir. (Photo: Arctic Circle)
Comment (Reykjavik): What happens when political leaders plant disdain for research and science in their voters? Well, that does not remain to be seen. We are already heading there, guided by a country that once was an international beacon of research.
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And that is very worrying, according to Dr. John Holdren from Harvard University, Massachusetts, USA. The oldest university in the US and one of many research environments under what Holdren describes as a direct attack by the US administration.
Mass firings
Strong words from the professor, who has traveled from the US to the Arctic Circle conference in Iceland, to give warning about what is happening. And he is by no means alone. The professor showcases a fear shared by researchers across the world.
The researchers who haven't already been fired in the US are fearing mass firings next year. Some simple facts demonstrate that this fear is not without reason.
The US National Science Foundation is an organisation that funds universities and colleges across the US. The budget proposes a more than 50 percent cut, or about nine billion dollars from 2024 to barely four billion in 2026.
Another institution, the National Institute of Health, must prepare for a cut of 40 percent in the same period. When I go to the institute's website, the first thing that meets me is a fiery red warning announcing that the website has not been updated due to a lack of public funding.
It is extremely worrying.
And Trump is not just cutting funding, he is also stopping research that is already underway, says the US professor.
A dangerous man
As many other scientists and researchers, he is a thorn in the eye of the US president, particularly because his list of achievements includes a scientific advisor position for President Obama and a period as the Director of the White House Office for Science and Technology.
This is a resume that would prompt excitement for anyone looking for scientific expertise. To Donald Trump, this is a downright dangerous man.
Yet, the problem the world is facing is not just about the US. Russia, sitting on crucial data on climate, is excluded from the Arctic community, with few exceptions.
Political autocrats with ambitions of becoming Europe's version of Donald Trump are mirroring this new US model.
Why should we trust health ministers?
And this is not something that will pass with a possible future shift in the US administration after an election. The gaps in research, the lack of scientists, are abysses that will be hard to fill, even long term.
Research in disrepute
Alas, the problem is bigger than that. The wing-clipping at the top of the political pyramid of research, be it in innovation, life and health, economy, politics, or anything really, is setting research in disrepute among the public.
We can clearly see it in regard to anti-vaccination and climate change, for example. Why should people trust someone whose credibility is notoriously undermined by health ministers?
Or as Dame Angela McLean, the UK Government Chief Scientific Adviser, said:
"How are we to make people trust that vaccines are good for children?"
The truth is dangerous to people who abuse power.
Or to use another, perhaps more banal example: What happens with avalanche warnings, flood disasters, or other natural disasters, if we stop trusting the meteorologists?
Exposing corruption
The most dramatic aspect is perhaps that the cuts result from a desire to remove research and researchers who do not serve the political goals of those in power. Researchers who expose corruption or explain the US's path from democracy to fascism. Or researchers who scientifically document the inadequacy of protectionism in a world where international trade is crucial for both security policy and food security.
Free and independent research environments are crucial to the survival of democracies.
It is this threat, the threat of losing power and authority, that makes dictators and autocrats turn off the taps for some of the world's most important research institutions.
The truth is dangerous to people who abuse their power. Therefore, researchers must be stopped.
