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.”
This sentiment stems, in part, from the economic shocks that followed the 2008 financial crisis, which culminated in today’s high inflation and stagnant productivity. As middle-class parents faced the prospect that their children might not be better off than them, they were bound to look for someone to blame. In an atmosphere of widespread public discontent, the technocratic elite emerged as a convenient scapegoat.
To be sure, independent expertise has failed to prevent crises such as the near-collapse of the global financial system or the COVID-19 pandemic. At times, experts have even made things worse. For example, central banks were far too slow to recognize the readily apparent fact that massive quantitative easing would boost asset prices, thus disproportionately benefiting those who already owned assets and contributing to rising inequality.
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.”
This sentiment stems, in part, from the economic shocks that followed the 2008 financial crisis, which culminated in today’s high inflation and stagnant productivity. As middle-class parents faced the prospect that their children might not be better off than them, they were bound to look for someone to blame. In an atmosphere of widespread public discontent, the technocratic elite emerged as a convenient scapegoat.
To be sure, independent expertise has failed to prevent crises such as the near-collapse of the global financial system or the COVID-19 pandemic. At times, experts have even made things worse. For example, central banks were far too slow to recognize the readily apparent fact that massive quantitative easing would boost asset prices, thus disproportionately benefiting those who already owned assets and contributing to rising inequality.