Introduction to Perils for Science in Democracies and Authoritarian Countries

Science has always been influenced by various societal factors, such as its politicization, funding constraints, market forces, and the challenges posed by opposing ideologies such as creationism or debunked racial theories.The articles in this special issue explore the challenges facing science in democracies and authoritarian countries, with a focus on the impact of new movements and policies operating under the names diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI); decolonizing science; wokeism; and social justice.While these policies are meant to promote equality and justice for underrepresented groups, they often conflict with the principle of equality of opportunity that is based on individual merit rather than group identity.The essays were written by a multinational group of scientists and scholars, invited by the Jacques Loeb Centre for the History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel.They provide different scientific and historical perspectives on how these policies pose a threat to the scientific merit system, the level of scientific performance, and the notion of scientific truth that affects countries to varying degrees, most strongly the United States.They point to the current suppression of free speech and an open discourse in academia, the devastating effects of identity and race policies and of the campaigns for decolonizing science and culture.For example, advocates of 'decolonialization' of science and the humanities claim that mathematics education in schools in the US is Eurocentric, racist, and supremacist, and reforms are being implemented that lower the level of mathematics education in the name of equality.Changes such as these could have serious consequences for the future of science and technology, as well as the global economy

Action (physics · Authoritarianism · Content (measure theory · Democracy · Physics · Political science · Health and Conflict Studies · Law · Mathematics

• The methodology of the social sciences

  Max Weber•The methodology of the social…•1968

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