Experts Justifying Capital: How 'Science' Became a Tool to Keep the Status Quo Intact
Current expert-driven policy, from COVID to climate change, is widely seen as a sham designed to legitimize decisions already controlled by established economic interests.
The floor splits sharply on the nature of 'expert rule.' 'muad_dibber' insists technocracy is useless outside a workers' state, arguing that capital's power negates any real autonomy for experts. Conversely, 'SovietIntl' points to the PRC as a successful modern model benefiting the common good. Meanwhile, 'ksynwa' dismisses the entire enterprise, claiming scientific findings are selectively 'mangled to uphold the status quo.' A separate critique, leveled by 'The_Lobster_Emperor,' accused some participants of employing historical revisionism alongside their ideological critiques.
The prevailing view is that genuine, autonomous expert governance is functionally impossible within current capitalist democracies. The fault lines run between those demanding a socialist prerequisite for expertise and those who criticize the entire structure as inherently compromised by vested economic power.
Key Points
Expert policy merely legitimizes existing capital interests.
General consensus noted that 'expert-driven policy' acts as a veneer over entrenched economic power.
Technocracy requires a workers' state to have any real chance of success.
'muad_dibber' stated this clearly, arguing economic power blocks expert autonomy.
Modern socialist states offer viable technological models.
'SovietIntl' cited the PRC as an example beneficial to the common good, contrasting it with the West.
Under capitalism, science is manipulated to maintain the status quo.
'ksynwa' argued that scientific responses (e.g., on climate) are selectively used or 'mangled'.
Dismissing the property-owning class is a prerequisite for true expert governance.
'muad_dibber' drew a direct parallel to Marx's refutation of Plato's republic.
Debaters are engaging in unacceptable historical revisionism.
'The_Lobster_Emperor' flagged specific users for using revisionist tactics when making ideological claims.
Source Discussions (3)
This report was synthesized from the following Lemmy discussions, ranked by community score.