Politics in the Academy

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/03/opinion/politics-in-the-academy.html

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To the Editor:

Re “The Reactionary Mind” (column, April 24):

The “neoreactionaries,” conservatives opposed to liberal orthodoxy whom Ross Douthat would like to see in academia, actually do exist in the academy: But we are called scientists. The reason that we tend to identify with the left is that the right has established a long record of supporting ideologically driven political policies that run counter to empirical evidence.

In general, these policies have taken the form of reaction against change despite overwhelming evidence that such changes will serve the common good. Examples include resistance to controls on tobacco, pollution, seatbelts, civil rights, access to health care, evolution and climate change.

Additionally, the general perception that resistance to such changes is based on narrow financial and/or ideological interests has served to further discredit the right.

Our civilization is founded on science and technology, without which nowhere near 7.5 billion human beings could possibly be living on this planet. While the humanities are free to fight their narrow ideological battles, this is only one facet of that academy.

For the last 100 years, the truly radical ideas have come from science, technology, engineering and mathematics: Ignore them at your own peril.

JONATHAN D. DINMAN

Potomac, Md.

The writer is chairman of the cell biology and molecular genetics department at the University of Maryland, College Park.