Religion and Politics
One of the scariest things in the real world is a mass of uninformed irrational people demanding what they think they want, but really what they have just been told that they need. This is why true direct democracy is a scary thing. Most countries that people call democracies are usually watered down forms, such as republics where rule of law—not the whim of the masses—reigns.
In any case, this is also why religion—institutional systems built on faith—should not be allowed to influence or run government. It makes manipulation of uninformed masses of people too easy.
Take the one of the most prominent form of faith-based influences on governments worldwide today: scientism. When science and politics get into bed together making predictions about the future based on public policy or human behaviors, watch out! Science is too easily manipulated in such cases, and using science to predict the future is not much better than witchcraft or folksy wisdom at predicting the future. (Compare long range weather forecasting to the Farmer’s Almanac.)
Back in the seventies science teamed up with politicians to warn us of the impending ice age. In the eighties it was that pesky hole in the ozone layer. Now we have human instigated global warming. Ever wonder why you don’t hear much about the ozone hole anymore?
Turns out it is on its road to recovery. After all that push to eliminate the human causes scientists discovered that it was naturally fluctuating greatly from year to year. (Who’s to say what it did for the thousands of years we weren’t observing it?) It is now projected to close around 2080. (Don’t hold your breath.) To make matters even more embarrassing for the prophets from the eighties, it looks like a new hole is set to open over the Arctic and there is nothing we can do to stop it because we are not causing it. Top put the cherry on top it turns out that scientific evidence has now been measured to show that the hole over the Antarctic closing will accelerate and worsen global warming. (You knew that was coming, didn’t you? Global Warming types are nothing if not alarmist and pessimistic.)
In any case, this is also why religion—institutional systems built on faith—should not be allowed to influence or run government. It makes manipulation of uninformed masses of people too easy.
Take the one of the most prominent form of faith-based influences on governments worldwide today: scientism. When science and politics get into bed together making predictions about the future based on public policy or human behaviors, watch out! Science is too easily manipulated in such cases, and using science to predict the future is not much better than witchcraft or folksy wisdom at predicting the future. (Compare long range weather forecasting to the Farmer’s Almanac.)
Back in the seventies science teamed up with politicians to warn us of the impending ice age. In the eighties it was that pesky hole in the ozone layer. Now we have human instigated global warming. Ever wonder why you don’t hear much about the ozone hole anymore?
Turns out it is on its road to recovery. After all that push to eliminate the human causes scientists discovered that it was naturally fluctuating greatly from year to year. (Who’s to say what it did for the thousands of years we weren’t observing it?) It is now projected to close around 2080. (Don’t hold your breath.) To make matters even more embarrassing for the prophets from the eighties, it looks like a new hole is set to open over the Arctic and there is nothing we can do to stop it because we are not causing it. Top put the cherry on top it turns out that scientific evidence has now been measured to show that the hole over the Antarctic closing will accelerate and worsen global warming. (You knew that was coming, didn’t you? Global Warming types are nothing if not alarmist and pessimistic.)
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