Deadly Enemies of Science and Truth; Champions of Ignorance
April 16, 2017 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
The Trump/Pence regime is a fascist regime. As such, it bludgeons the truth when it does not serve its interests or program. There is the regime of “alternative facts,” the outright denial of scientific truths, and the undermining and sidestepping of the role of science and scientists in critical areas like global warming and public health. The Christian fascist cohort led by Pence is readying its assault on the science of evolution and in other areas. Only science and engineering serving corporate and military interests are to be encouraged and funded.
Such a regime must not only be resisted, it must be driven out. The March for Science and the Refuse Fascism contingent in it are absolutely needed—and at the same time, must open up a whole new upsurge of struggle, leading to the ending of the regime, as soon as possible.
Capitalism-Imperialism in Its “Normal Workings”
Yet while fascism is indeed monstrous and grotesque, capitalism in its normal workings represents a real horror for humanity. Imperialist wars; the oppression of Black people and other oppressed nationalities, of women and immigrants; and the destruction of the environment are a matter of course and a result of the workings of this system.
And capitalism-imperialism is a real and substantive fetter on the pursuit of science. Just some of the ways include:
Large sections of humanity are locked out of training and working in the realm of ideas. Billions of children around the world are denied the basics of science and the scientific method, of truths that we have come to know, about how the universe and life came to be. This “mental/manual” divide, perpetuated daily by the workings of this system, stands as a fetter on scientific pursuit—by humanity as a whole. The systematic reinforcement of religion by the ruling classes plays no small role in this. All this then creates fertile ground for fascism to whip up its social base for anti-scientific attacks, along with a general know-nothing-ism.
Funding of scientific research—and allocation of social wealth to do so—is fundamentally dictated by the goals of this system and its rulers. These do not correspond to the interests of humanity. Research grants skewed to conform to aims of the defense and energy departments, or corporate entities, are but a symptom of that. These funding levers are now in the grip of the fascists.
Capitalism is driven by competition—between nations, blocs of capital in the form of corporate entities, and even individuals. Scientific findings, instead of being shared with the world and humanity for the common good, are treated as intellectual property, to be monetized and used against competitors, national or corporate.
In imperialist countries like the U.S., basic scientific research and areas like public health and the environment are afforded. But this is only because of wealth resulting from these countries’ position on top of the world imperialist system and its brutal food chain. This is not the case in what is commonly known as the Third World. It is also constricted when fascists in power view this as unnecessary—like now.
Capitalist competitiveness manifests in “me first” ideology, perverting social relations and standing in the way of people truly cooperating and sharing to pursue science and truth. Dominant social relations of this system also pose real obstacles—in different ways—to women and oppressed nationalities pursuing science.
An Invitation to a Radically Different World
All of this is utterly unnecessary and can be overcome through an actual revolution to get rid of this system and bring about a radically different—and far better—society. One that aims to get beyond oppression, exploitation, and antagonistic social divides as part of a worldwide process. It is an economic system not based on exploitation of people or the environment, a political system that aims to eliminate antagonistic social divides, and the radical transformation of social relations and ideas.
A concrete and viable vision of this society is captured in the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America, authored by Bob Avakian (BA). In the overall context and blueprint for the new society, there are detailed sections on the Environment, Education, and Science and Scientific Endeavor that will be of specific interest to those marching in defense of science and the environment. The Constitution is based on BA’s new synthesis of communism, a whole new framework for human emancipation on a thoroughly scientific foundation, developed over four decades. For more, we encourage you to read the interview of the award-winning scientist and author Ardea Skybreak: Science and Revolution, On the Importance of Science and the Application of Science to Society, the New Synthesis of Communism and the Leadership of Bob Avakian.
Past communist theory was marked by shortcomings that ran counter to its principally scientific character. Previous revolutionary experiences and genuine socialist societies—the Soviet Union and China—were also marked by serious shortcomings and errors that ran counter to their positive achievements and their liberatory goals. BA’s work examines and excavates these, and resolves them in a radically new—and different—synthesis. In the interview, Science and Revolution, Skybreak states,“Look, with BA, you have somebody here who’s really good at applying consistent evidence-based scientific methods to both the analysis of current society and the pathways for change of future society. How can you not want to seriously examine and check this out?”
At a moment when truth, science, the scientific method and their place in public life and policy are under siege—when human society itself is under direct threat from a science-denying, nuclear-roulette-playing regime—isn’t it time to take up Skybreak’s challenge?
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