Over the weekend the Toronto Globe and Mail had a lengthy article on politics and science (courtesy Chris Mooney). The end of the article contains some interesting comments from Alan Leshner, CEO of the AAAS, describing how AAAS is organizing scientists to combat the politicization of science.

“Dr. Leshner, of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, believes firmly that scientists must expand their public role: “When all of this politics, ideology and moralizing started, everybody in the scientific community’s initial reaction was to lament the situation. But whining doesn’t help. What I believe, and what many of my colleagues believe, is that you need to go out to people where they are, not where we are.” That means talking to reporters “as much as we can,” he said, and writing commentaries in the mass media. “It’s about finding out what [the public's] concerns are and trying to find common ground,” Dr. Leshner said. “We need to change our strategy and engage with the public.” And that means scientists mounting a political campaign of their own. Dr. Leshner said the AAAS now has an elaborate plan to develop “a cadre of ambassadors of science,” to fan out across the country and visit “religious groups, churches, synagogues, mosques, Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs, Kiwanis and Rotary Clubs . . . to go to where the people are, listen to what they are thinking about . . . let them help shape the research agenda. “The truth is,” he said, “they’re paying for this [research]. They ought to get something out of it.””

While I am all for public participation in the setting of research agendas, somehow the idea of scientists “mounting a political campaign of their own” does not strike me as a productive way to address concerns about the politicization of science. It may instead result in the exact opposite.