This position -which was borne of left-wing postmodern philosophy but is now held primarily by kooks, crackpots and conspiracy theorists -effectively promotes skepticism of science itself.
According to this view, since science isn’t in a privileged position to discover truth, we shouldn’t privilege it in any way.
Such disdain for science is clearly evident in the Conservatives’ elimination of the Office of Science Adviser and of their muzzling of Environment Canada scientists. But more than anything, their elimination of the mandatory long-form census, and their bizarre proclamations that they can still gain necessary knowledge about Canadian society without it, reveals their open hostility, not just to scientists, but to science itself.
Given that the Conservatives embrace this strange philosophy, their opposition to listing chrysotile, while still shocking, isn’t surprising. But much like chrysotile, it is deadly. Also much like chrysotile, it ought to be buried deep in the ground, before it buries us all.
Keywords: hazard, asbestos
