Anthony Fauci: Prophet of Scientism

We were warned decades ago. In 1958, in Willing Slaves of the Welfare State, C.S. Lewis wrote,

[T]he new oligarchy must more and more base its claim to plan us on its claim to knowledge. If we are to be mothered, mother must know best. This means they must increasingly rely on the advice of scientists, till in the end the politicians proper become merely the scientists’ puppets. Technocracy is the form to which a planned society must tend. Now I dread specialists in power because they are specialists speaking outside their special subjects. Let scientists tell us about sciences. But government involves questions about the good for man, and justice, and what things are worth having at what price; and on these a scientific training gives a man’s opinion no added value. Let the doctor tell me I shall die unless I do so-and-so; but whether life is worth having on those terms is no more a question for him than for any other man…I dread government in the name of science. That is how tyrannies come in.

In the past 18 months, has there been a more dreaded “specialist in power” than Dr. Anthony Fauci? Seemingly reveling in his ability to inflict technocratic tyranny, Fauci has spent much of the past 18 months speaking outside his special subject. And during the Wuhan virus “casedemic” (it was more this than a pandemic) even when he stuck to his “special subject” (immunology and infectious diseases), Fauci has frequently been proven wrong.

On everything from masks (again and again!) to social distancing, testing, the lockdowns, the vaccinated, the asymptomatic, herd immunity, and the origins of the Wuhan virus, Fauci (along with his like-minded ilk) has regularly failed to get it right. Nevertheless, Fauci tells us that those now calling him out—with some (rightly) demanding his resignation or firing—for his repeated failures and deceit are guilty of attacking “science and the truth.”

In other words, in order to protect himself, Fauci is hiding behind “the science.” This is nothing more than another technocrat using scientism to further himself and his perverse agenda, all the while hoping to keep his hands on the levers of Big Government as long as possible. Like all of those steeped in scientism, Fauci is guilty of abusing the scientific method and scientific authority.

Fauci’s scientism has wrought near-immeasurable damage to the U.S. Hundreds of thousands of American businesses were shut down during the foolish lockdowns, with many never to reopen. As a result, millions of Americans lost their jobs. In an attempt to fix this self-inflicted problem, the U.S. government has incurred several trillion dollars more in debt on top of the numerous trillions in debt with which we were already burdened.

In addition, churches were shuttered, playgrounds were closed, sports—even outdoor sports!—were cancelled, concerts were called off, and so on. America entered an unprecedented—and tragically unnecessary—era of inactivity. Because we were repeatedly and wrongly told that a “wave” of virus cases was imminent, hospitals virtually emptied out, postponed treatments and surgeries, and told most everyone to stay away. In other words, thanks largely to Fauci’s scientism, the health care demands of the Wuhan virus were grossly overestimated and many who needed medical care could not get it.

As I noted back in August of 2020, these demands were so “grossly overestimated” that billions of taxpayer dollars were unnecessarily spent—in other words, wasted—on “field hospitals” that were supposedly meant to help “handle” the virus patients as states fought to “flatten the curve.” Numerous hospitals that cost tens of millions of dollars each never treated a single patient. Others treated only a few dozen. Additionally, the hospital patient shortage was so massive that numerous U.S. hospitals suffered unprecedented, albeit self-inflicted, financial devastation.

In spite of being in less danger from the Wuhan virus than they are from the seasonal flu, millions of U.S. students have not seen the inside of their schools for almost a year-and-a-half. Most of those that were allowed to return to school have been foolishly and ignorantly required to wear a face mask. Since U.S. schools were shut down in March of 2020, week after week has provided clear data that shows that the young and healthy are in virtually no danger from the Wuhan virus. Yet the shutdowns and the masking persisted. Why?! The only answer is: scientism.

Fauci has proven himself to be the high priest of this perverse ideology. Make no mistake: much of what has been imposed in the name of the Wuhan virus—including widespread changes in election methods—was done to keep Donald Trump from winning re-election and to further empower power-hungry democrats. However, scientism was the means by which almost all of this was accomplished.

What else could explain many Americans still wearing masks outdoors and alone in their cars? What else could explain an insistence (and then quick reversal) that the vaccinated continue to wear masks and practice “social distancing?” What else could explain the eager rush to shun the idea that the Wuhan virus was manufactured and escaped from a Wuhan lab? What else could explain the rejection of proven remedies to fight diseases like the Wuhan virus?

It was never the business of men (or women) like Dr. Fauci to lead the way in deciding how any government—but especially the government of the United States of America—should govern during a health crisis. Living life on his “terms” during the Wuhan virus debacle has proved a tragic mistake. Hopefully enough Americans have learned the right lessons.

(See this column at American Thinker.) 

Copyright 2021, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor is the author of the The Miracle and Magnificence of America
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com