Vaccination skepticism isâ??regardless of oneâ??s judgment about inoculationâ??an elemental rejection of expertise and authority structures. Hostility towards vaccinations exists on a spectrum, ranging from the â??anti-vaxâ? advocates (think Jenny McCarthy) to worried parents to libertarian-leaning folks who vaccinate but think the alternatives should be legal. These distinctions are important and it would be unwise to talk past or dismiss them. Nevertheless, itâ??s safe to say that each of these camps are connected by a mutual distrust of medical professionals (doctors) and authorities (the CDC).
In one of The Federalistâ??s best pieces from last year, â??The Death of Expertise,â? Tom Nichols lamented that contemporary American culture is becoming an â??expert-lessâ? one. Those with earned intellectual authority, Nichols writes, are no longer given a privileged place in public debate, but are made more or less equivalent to the everyday yokel in the name of â??democracy:â?
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