Monday 29 April 2013

New alarmist Michigan State University study "affirms the success" of the "denial machine"


Warmist Michigan State University associate professor of sociology Aaron M. McCright has (together with a researcher from the Oklahoma State University) published a study - "The Politicization of Climate Change and Polarization in the American Public's Views on Global Warming, 2001 - 2010". 

The study is, as could be expected, full of sociological gobbledygook. The good ones are, of course, socialists, leftists, liberals and envirofundamentalists. They are the "forces of reflexivity". The bad ones - Republicans and conservatives - are "forces of anti-reflexivity". 

Even if the researchers are heavily slanted in favor of climate alarmism, the main conclusion of the study is in reality a vindication of climate realism.

The results reaffirm the success of what McCright calls the "denial machine" – an organized movement to undercut the scientific reality of climate change during the past two decades.

Here is an extract from the "summary and conclusion" of the new study: 

Indeed, among elites and organizations within our society, there is an
enduring conflict between forces of reflexivity (those mostly on the Left who identify
problems with our economic system) and forces of anti-reflexivity (those mostly on
the Right who defend the industrial capitalist order of modernity against such critiques). Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than in the debate over climate change,
the most challenging global environmental problem and one with the greatest regulatory implications.
Our results indicate that this conflict is also diffusing throughout the American
public. Liberals and Democrats are more likely to take the side of the scientific consensus and many environmental movement organizations, proclaiming that global
warming is real, is human-caused, and is a worrisome threat. On the other hand,
conservatives and Republicans are more likely to dispute or deny the scientific consensus and the claims of the environmental community, thereby defending the industrial capitalist system.
This trend poses a challenge for proponents of reflexive modernization, as a growing
percentage of the American public—and not justself-interested industrial/conservative
elites—denies the scientific evidence documenting anthropogenic climate change and
thus the need for ameliorative action. This diffusion of anti-reflexivity throughout
society results in a declining portion of the populace willing to acknowledge a major
negative consequence of industrial capitalism. The culture wars have thus taken on a
new dimension, with serious implications for long-term societal resilience.

Yes, even a leftist sociology professor realizes that the alarmists have lost the war. And the "implications for long-term societal resilience" will be extremely positive, thanks to the victory of the "anti-reflexivity forces", of which this writer is a proud member. 

PS
The Michigan State University page on McCright shows that the associate professor has based almost his entire career on "exploring" the "climate change contrarians". Now, when it is clear that they have won, the professor should probably try to find another leftist bandwagon to profit from.

"his main contribution has been exploring how and why the American conservative movement and its allied climate change contrarians have effectively challenged climate science and policy in the United States for the last two decades." 

1 comment:

A K Haart said...

"a declining portion of the populace willing to acknowledge a major
negative consequence of industrial capitalism."

In other words, the perspective is socialist. Nothing to do with science or even the real world.