Experts and the Will of the People: Society, Populism and Science (2020)

Experts and the Will of the People: Society, Populism and Science (2020)

By Harry Collins, Robert Evans, Darrin Durant, and Martin Weinel

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.

READ FULL DESCRIPTION

Quantity Price Discount
List Price $69.99  

Quick Quote

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit

Non-returnable discount pricing

$69.99


Book Information

Publisher: Palgrave Pivot
Publish Date: 10/23/2019
Pages: 99
ISBN-13: 9783030269821
ISBN-10: 3030269825
Language: English

Full Description

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.

About the Authors

Harry Collins is Distinguished Research Professor of Sociology and Director of the Centre for the Study of Knowledge, Expertise, and Science at Cardiff University.

Learn More


Harry Collins is Distinguished Research Professor at Cardiff University, UK. He is an elected Fellow of the British Academy and winner of the Bernal prize for social studies of science. His c25 books cover, among other things, sociology of scientific knowledge, artificial intelligence, the nature of expertise, tacit knowledge, and technology in sport.<

Learn More


Harry Collins is Distinguished Research Professor at Cardiff University, UK. He is an elected Fellow of the British Academy and winner of the Bernal prize for social studies of science. His c25 books cover, among other things, sociology of scientific knowledge, artificial intelligence, the nature of expertise, tacit knowledge, and technology in sport.<

Learn More


Harry Collins is Distinguished Research Professor at Cardiff University, UK. He is an elected Fellow of the British Academy and winner of the Bernal prize for social studies of science.

Learn More

We have updated our privacy policy. Click here to read our full policy.