Experts and the Will of the People
Society, Populism and Science
Robert Evans author Harry Collins author Martin Weinel author Darrin Durant author
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Springer Nature Switzerland AG
Published:23rd Oct '19
Currently unavailable, currently targeted to be due back around 12th April 2025, but could change

The rise of populism in the West has led to attacks on the legitimacy of scientific expertise in political decision making. This book explores the differences between populism and pluralist democracy and their relationship with science. Pluralist democracy is characterised by respect for minority choices and a system of checks and balances that prevents power being concentrated in one group, while populism treats minorities as traitorous so as to concentrate power in the government. The book argues that scientific expertise – and science more generally -- should be understood as one of the checks and balances in pluralist democracies. It defends science as ‘craftwork with integrity’ and shows how its crucial role in democratic societies can be rethought and that it must be publicly explained. This book will be of value to scholars and practitioners working across STS as well as to anyone interested in decoding the populist agenda against science.
ISBN: 9783030269821
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 454g
99 pages
1st ed. 2020