These are dangerous times. Never have so many people had access to so much knowledge, and yet been so resistant to learning anything.
Tom Nichols
The Founding Fathers, while setting up a democratic republic, guaranteed a free press to serve as a watchdog on the government. They also set up public schools and universities because they knew that a democracy could only work if the populace was educated.
In today’s world we have such easy access to so much information we tend to think we are more knowledgeable and “educated” about the world than we actually are. We have mistaken information for knowledge and our opinions for facts. We can watch a few Bob Ross videos and magically believe we can paint as well as he does.
Expertise doesn’t come easily
Actually, in real life, developing expertise in something requires years of study and practice. This is true in all fields, from medicine to music to plumbing. In the working world, the major professions and trades have established required educational standards, mandatory intern or apprenticeship training terms, and government licensing requirements in order to assure quality practice in their fields.
These well-educated, trained, certificated, licensed, and experienced people are the experts in their fields. No one wants to go to an unlicensed doctor and most people appreciate the craftsmanship of the experienced carpenter.
People overestimate their own expertise
Unfortunately, more and more people are losing their respect for expertise. People have always thought highly of their own opinions. Now, because of the wide-spread availability of data online, people more easily (and mistakenly) presume that their “knowledge” and opinions are just as accurate, valid, and valuable as that of the “experts.”
This is simply not true. Expertise cannot be acquired from a single internet search or watching a few online videos. An ignorant opinion is NOT as accurate, valid, or valuable as an expert opinion. Still, the right-wing media obsessively promotes ignorance by supporting this lie.
To reject the notion of expertise, and to replace it with a sanctimonious insistence that every person has a right to his or her own opinion, is silly.
Tom Nichols
Solutions require facts, not opinions
Some say that the internet has given us “too much democracy.” Anyone can now publish and promote their own opinions whether they are well-informed or not. It is dangerous when policy decisions are based on ignorant, usually politicized, opinions rather than on verified, accurate facts. Effective solutions cannot be derived from fantasy scenarios or wishful thinking.
Our democracy requires experts to inform and guide us as we consider complex policy decisions. Experts are even more important when a topic is controversial. In those situations, factual, expert data should help to calm the emotions and give the disputants a common basis for discussion.
The right-wing rejects expertise
Unfortunately, the right-wing media and the Republican Party have given up on the idea of seeking common ground. Rather, they have chosen to withdraw from civil discourse and, instead, hyper-politicize every issue. Rather than seeking facts, they make up their own “reality.” Rather than consulting experts for information and ideas, they constantly denigrate civil servants and academics.
The death of expertise is a rejection not only of knowledge, but of the ways in which we gain knowledge and learn about things. Fundamentally, it’s a rejection of science and rationality, which are the foundations of Western civilization itself.
Tom Nichols
The rise of right-wing populism, and the authoritarian “solutions” they advocate, is the lazy way out. It frees the citizen from the civility, the respect for diversity, and the compromise required by true democracy. If we don’t support and defend those educators, scientists, analysts, and journalists who still insist on civility, respect, and facts, our experiment in democracy will fail.
Sources: Rick Shenkman, “The Shocking Paper Predicting the End of Democracy,” Politico, September 8, 2019.
Shankar Vedantam, “Close Enough: The Lure Of Living Through Others,” Hidden Brain, NPR, February 11,2019.
David Roberts, “Donald Trump and the rise of tribal epistemology,” Vox, May 19, 2017.
Tom Nichols, “The Death of Expertise,” The Federalist, January 17, 2014.
Tom Nichols, The Death of Expertise, Oxford University Press, 2017.
Yep. Reminds me of Nibley’s comment that the very helplessness of the public that forces us to rely on the opinions of experts also limits our capacity to judge how expert they really are. And that is why the tactic of tribal labeling (rather than testing) and ideological dismissal of opponents as “Not us!” are so destructive and dangerous. It is important to be able to ask “Why us?”