Again: great insights! Question: Couldn’t it be a meaningful way to say that certain issues are being politicized negatively? Take, for instance, behavior genetics. By politicizing these findings, one might argue that behavior genetics is a partisan endeavor, only supported by those on the political right. However, if one refrains from p…
Again: great insights! Question: Couldn’t it be a meaningful way to say that certain issues are being politicized negatively? Take, for instance, behavior genetics. By politicizing these findings, one might argue that behavior genetics is a partisan endeavor, only supported by those on the political right. However, if one refrains from politicizing behavior genetics, the focus shifts to recognizing the significance of genetic differences among individuals and prompts the question of how best to address these differences?
Thanks, Harald. Katheryn Harden tried to depoliticize behavioral genetics in her book, The Genetic Lottery, but it was mainly an attempt to repoliticize it in favor of the political left (e.g. if your success in life is due to your genes, then success is a matter of luck and we need to redistribute wealth). People like to claim they are depoliticizing things while they are secretly politicizing them in favor of their preferred side of the political aisle. It's another one of those social paradoxes: we rally support for our side by being impartial to both sides. So I don't think the field got politicized because of uppity signaly people who just care about politicizing everything. I think it got politicized because it is inherently political. To refrain from politicizing it is merely to politicize it in a different way--to take away a potential arrow in the quiver of one of the two political sides. People who aren't strongly loyal to either side would naturally prefer this outcome, but of course they would prefer that--it benefits them. The "grey tribe" gets stronger when the "red tribe" and "blue tribe" get weaker (per the Scott Alexander post). If there's a way to genuinely depoliticize things, it's to admit that we're all secretly tribal in our own way. But of course we don't like to admit that. Which is why I like to point it out. My two cents anyways.
Again: great insights! Question: Couldn’t it be a meaningful way to say that certain issues are being politicized negatively? Take, for instance, behavior genetics. By politicizing these findings, one might argue that behavior genetics is a partisan endeavor, only supported by those on the political right. However, if one refrains from politicizing behavior genetics, the focus shifts to recognizing the significance of genetic differences among individuals and prompts the question of how best to address these differences?
Thanks, Harald. Katheryn Harden tried to depoliticize behavioral genetics in her book, The Genetic Lottery, but it was mainly an attempt to repoliticize it in favor of the political left (e.g. if your success in life is due to your genes, then success is a matter of luck and we need to redistribute wealth). People like to claim they are depoliticizing things while they are secretly politicizing them in favor of their preferred side of the political aisle. It's another one of those social paradoxes: we rally support for our side by being impartial to both sides. So I don't think the field got politicized because of uppity signaly people who just care about politicizing everything. I think it got politicized because it is inherently political. To refrain from politicizing it is merely to politicize it in a different way--to take away a potential arrow in the quiver of one of the two political sides. People who aren't strongly loyal to either side would naturally prefer this outcome, but of course they would prefer that--it benefits them. The "grey tribe" gets stronger when the "red tribe" and "blue tribe" get weaker (per the Scott Alexander post). If there's a way to genuinely depoliticize things, it's to admit that we're all secretly tribal in our own way. But of course we don't like to admit that. Which is why I like to point it out. My two cents anyways.