Is political science relevant?

Over at True/Slant, Ryan Sager asks why so many pundits, political consultants, journalists, and politicians ignore political science… Why are experts regularly consulted in fields like economics, sports, or health, but not in politics?

Sager’s best guess is that political science tells us that much of politics is simply out of our control – political events and trends occur according to economic conditions and other sets of unpredictable stimuli, and to admit these basic truths would put the 24/7 news cycle out of business.  The average citizen knows / cares nothing about most policy questions, but those inside the Beltway must pretend as if they’re tied to Congress’s every move.

In other words, the findings of political science run contrary to the inherent interests of the politics “business”… What do we make of this?

-Colin

Related posts:

  1. The recession will not lead to better political science
  2. Sam Harris – Can science address morality?
  3. Science v. Religion Pt. 574
  4. The challenge of social science in constitutional interpretation and public policy
  5. Sacred (but political) texts

March 29, 2010 · Filed Under Uncategorized

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    Jacob Bronsther is a law student at NYU. He has an MPhil in Political Theory from Oxford.

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