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Anti-Science on the Left and Right: How Post-Truth Prevails

The right with climate change denial, which can be seen across the board among hard right, traditionalist conservative pundits and political parties. Then, evolution which has a profound history of conflict among religious groups particularly on the right–a significant portion of the religious right rejects the theory of evolution in favour of creationism or intelligent design. This is evident in attempts to introduce creationism into public school curriculums in various U.S. states. And the big bang, or rather the origin of the universe from what physicists call singularity; right-wing religious groups reject the Big Bang theory because it contradicts their literal interpretation of the creation story in the Bible. This has been seen in the opposition to teaching the Big Bang theory in some religious schools and communities. You may find many on the right that deny climate change, vaccination or they may cringe at technological advancement like having cars go electric. They deny the big bang; they wince at abiogenesis; they deny evolutionary biology: some even go as far scoffing at mental health disorders, withdrawing from general medicine in place of a false hope in divine intervention, and a disregard of the round earth and the universe itself replaced by the outdated and disproved idea of a flat earth.

The right will use science when it pleases them which can be exampled often uses scientific arguments to oppose transgender rights, arguing that biological sex is immutable. For example, right-wing pundits and politicians often cite scientific studies about biological differences to argue against policies that support transgender individuals. They acknowledge biological sex but refuse to acknowledge gender as a construct. The contradictions here are severe and will only lead the future of humanity into regression. The right has a long history of science denial and continues to be its most driving force compared to some on the left.

Rather than fighting amongst each other, would it not be a great wonder if governments invested more in understanding and exploring the cosmos, while also seeking ways to utilise the power of our star for efficient energy distribution? Such efforts could allow us to expand our knowledge of the solar system, discover realms beyond our current understanding, and thereby enhance human potential and the future of space travel. Hydropower, geothermal energy, biomass, turbines, and green hydrogen—all of these, along with the aforementioned, will become necessities. Yet the radical, science-denying right will only hinder such progress. For the sake of what? Their ideology, their traditions, their capitalistic gains, their war against science?

The left sometimes struggles to love science. Some fringe groups wanted to contradict it with the goal of decolonising science, as a small portion of pathetic left-wing academics and activists argue, asserting that traditional scientific methods and knowledge have been shaped by colonialism and therefore need to be re-evaluated. For instance, at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, there have been debates about integrating indigenous knowledge systems into the scientific curriculum.

Blocking roads when people are simply trying to reach jobs they already loathe—jobs that barely allow them to survive a cost-of-living crisis—does little to advance the protesters’ causes. These are causes I fully support, but not through methods that disrupt the lives of individuals who are already powerless. The general public, after all, is often too consumed with day-to-day survival to engage with the world’s larger problems. While I understand the urge to make a bold statement, targeting or relying on an indifferent public is a strategic misstep. Science-denying conservatives exploit these disruptions to manipulate the uninformed, encouraging them to ridicule environmental activism and dismiss scientific progress.

There is so much more to the cosmos than us pesky little humans, many of whom believe themselves the centre of it all, not fully grasping that we were not placed on this Earth with some special endowment. Instead, they fail to admit that life was a mere happenstance that began at least three billion years ago. Science works and will continue to work regardless of whether one’s political or religious agenda is contradicted or offended. Conservatives tout, “Facts don’t care about your feelings”. Yes, this is true. But facts also don’t care about your political agenda, your denial, your religion or your God.

*This essay is featured in the book, The Rise of the Radical Right.

*This essay was written in 2023-24

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