All of the Republican presidential candidates, save John Huntsman, have positioned themselves as "skeptics" about both biological evolution and anthropogenic climate change. And Rick Perry—perhaps the Republican frontrunner—has been particularly vociferous on these topics. Attacks on the teaching of biological evolution in the U.S. have historically been linked to religion, specifically to "Christian Fundamentalism." Yet, that climate change, along with biological evolution, is now a target of these attacks suggests that religion is not the whole story. What, then, is it that makes attacks on "science" appealing for much of the Republican base at this time? The answer, I think, is that in these attacks, "science" represents professional-managerial expertise and, by association, the professional-managerial classes themselves. In this regard, it is crucial that science is generally taught in K-12 schools through appeals to authority.
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