From Sociology Needs a Public
by Frances Fox Piven
..."The public regards sociologists as experts. Whether we always consider ourselves experts may be another matter. But experts, when they speak only to the powerful, can be dangerous to democracy."
" Social science, whether conducted in government agencies, as in Krugman’s example, or in other institutions, is regularly used to mislead or befuddle the public. Whether the issue is poverty or marriage or child-rearing or immigration or health, social scientists do not provide the findings that solve social problems, they do not help to bring the rains or reduce poverty, but rather their work is used to legitimate policies for which the claim is made that the people’s work is being done, although policies are ordinarily shaped more by the hidden interests of the powerful than by the social problems for which they are named."
"This is a serious problem for our discipline. The uses of sociology by those in power is not good for democracy because it obfuscates the consequences of policy, and also helps to delude us about the interests that shape policy."
"Put another way, we have a dilemma as social scientists. We are attracted to power, to the idea or the illusion that we can make an imprint on the course of events, to the hope that we can make a difference. We are also attracted by the dollars that government, foundations, and businesses provide to underwrite our work. We cannot wish away either of these influences."...
*The posts made in this blog are of our opinion only* Without Prejudice UCC 1-207
by Frances Fox Piven
..."The public regards sociologists as experts. Whether we always consider ourselves experts may be another matter. But experts, when they speak only to the powerful, can be dangerous to democracy."
"A little story about another sort of expert will make my point. The priests of the flourishing pre-Columbian Mayan kingdom in Yucatan were indeed experts. Long before the arrival of the conquistadors, they had figured out the calendar, so they knew when the rains would return each year. However, they did not share their key to the mysteries of the seasons with their people. Instead, they performed elaborate rituals as the rainy season approached, presumably to persuade the gods to bring the rains, but really to persuade their people of their own influence with the gods. In other words, the priests who had deciphered the calendar controlled a valuable political resource, not because they and their royal and warrior allies could control the seasons, but because they could use their knowledge to mystify and subdue their people."
"This is a serious problem for our discipline. The uses of sociology by those in power is not good for democracy because it obfuscates the consequences of policy, and also helps to delude us about the interests that shape policy."
"Put another way, we have a dilemma as social scientists. We are attracted to power, to the idea or the illusion that we can make an imprint on the course of events, to the hope that we can make a difference. We are also attracted by the dollars that government, foundations, and businesses provide to underwrite our work. We cannot wish away either of these influences."...
*The posts made in this blog are of our opinion only* Without Prejudice UCC 1-207
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