by Nick Rizzuto
TownHall.com
December 21, 2009
While many people take for granted the fact that it is dangerous to use articles of faith as the basis for public policy, we often fail to realize that science too represents an extremely dodgy justification for law. With a population that is often willing to unquestioningly defer to the “experts” on matters they feel are above their pay grade, the governed run the risk of empowering legislators to pass law that is just as much a product of faith as anything that can be found in your local church or synagogue.
Policies based on “scientific fact” have a history of being more than just problematic, as with the veneer of absolute truth behind them they have oftentimes been downright irrational. This historic record should act as a guide to our current political occupation with anthropogenic global warming.
Arguably, scientific fact changes more rapidly than religious dogma. What was undeniable truth one day might be discovered to be quackery the next. The most glaring example of this in the 20th century is the science of eugenics…
…Science lent its legitimacy to policies that were used to violate individual rights on a scale that should terrify anyone. Individuals and their rights were sacrificed on the altar of what at one time appeared to be reason.
Once again, we are beset by a group of people who are insisting that the science is settled and unquestionable. Policy, they argue, must reflect this absolute truth. The problem with this is that the very idea of unquestionable science makes it no different than faith. Any scientist will tell you that the only way scientific progress even occurs is if science is constantly and rigorously questioned.
Despite growing evidence of scientific deficiencies in their theories, leaders in the fields of politics and science have gathered to discuss and attempt to implement draconian laws meant to combat what they insist are inevitable dire consequences of free people and free markets left to their own devices.
In our names, far reaching measures are being concocted that entail the confiscation of our private property and the redistribution of trillions of dollars through a massive global bureaucracy. The similarities between the age of eugenics and climate change are startling, right down to the fact that discussion of population control is once again in vogue…
The entire article is at TownHall.com
