Friend of Democracy,
How does a country become a world power?
By being large and progressive.
Many people
x
superior knowledge
=
a lot of power
The USA is such a world power. For now.
The country is still large, but progress is slowing down.
Ten years ago, only one Chinese scientific institution was among the top 10 (ranked by publications in scientific journals) of the world's most renowned scientific institutions.
Now there are eight (see chart above).
Only one is left from the US (Harvard), plus one from Germany, the Max Planck Society.
The prospect of this changing (again)? Presumably slim.
Donald Trump and those who came to power with him are at war with science.
Like almost all populists are.
Science thrives on open outcomes. On verification and falsification. Not on dogmatism and lies. Trump is the antithesis of science. When science doesn't suit him, he suppresses it.
And how is the science community reacting?
So far, it has mainly been ducking away. In the hope of being spared Trump's guillotine.
However, empirical science teaches us that this is not the most effective way to combat authoritarian rule, let alone defeat it.
Literary scholar Stephen Greenblatt wrote in The New York Times a few days ago (gift article):
"We need to get up from under our desks and persuade our fellow citizens that the institutions they have helped create with their tax dollars are incredibly precious and important."
The US must learn today, rather than tomorrow, what it has never had to learn before: how to become a resilient democracy.
People in science can make an essential contribution to this development.
See you in Democracy,
Johannes Eber