Should We Elect More Scientists?

 

Take a look at John Allen Paulos’ recent opinion piece in the February 13 New York Times. In Why Don’t Americans Elect More Scientists, Paulos looks at the lack of scientists and trained experts serving in Congress and the highest levels of American government vs. other countries around the globe like China or Germany.  Paulos’writes:

“One needn’t endorse the politics of these people or countries to feel that given the complexities of an ever more technologically sophisticated world, the United States could benefit from the participation and example of more scientists in government.”

While Paulos focuses on the intellectual sobriety and skepticism that those with scientific training might bring to government, it strikes me that their life and professional experience would be valuable. Whether you agree with them or not, medical doctors in politics and from across the political spectrum – from Howard Dean to Rand and Ron Paul – commonly bring their real-world healthcare experience to their practical politics as well as their ideological commitment.

When we at PhRMA, for instance, talk about ideas like fortifying and enhancing the scientific and research eco-system in the U.S., those with actual hands-on experience in laboratories or science-based businesses would likely better understand how the policy, regulatory and even economic pieces fit together to improve America’s scientific and thus economic global  competitiveness.

Of course, most politicians are very extroverted and have personalities that lend themselves not only to public life but the rough give-and-take of politics.  There’s an old joke about how to tell an extrovert at a research lab: They’re the one looking at someone else’s shoes when they’re talking. In any event, having experts who understand and who have expertise in, for instance, all or part of the research and development process,or  how to turn an idea into a medicine that is safe and effective enough to be made available to patients, certainly wouldn’t hurt the creation of the laws that drive the regulations of these activities.