Supporters of populist parties often resent experts who believe their specialized knowledge entitles them to make major policy decisions. To maintain the authority of scientific and technical expertise requires rethinking the relationship between experts and the public.
CAMBRIDGE – The handmaiden to populism’s rise across the West has been distrust of experts, particularly those in positions of power who believe their specialized knowledge entitles them to make decisions that affect millions of people. Populist leaders routinely rebuke such experts, disparaging them as entrenched, out-of-touch political operatives inhabiting the “swamp,” the “blob,” or the “deep state.”
CAMBRIDGE – The handmaiden to populism’s rise across the West has been distrust of experts, particularly those in positions of power who believe their specialized knowledge entitles them to make decisions that affect millions of people. Populist leaders routinely rebuke such experts, disparaging them as entrenched, out-of-touch political operatives inhabiting the “swamp,” the “blob,” or the “deep state.”