Social Darwinists justify that the strong see their wealth and power increase, whereas the weak see theirs decrease, because of ‘the natural order’. Science’s ‘political capital’ can be earned by both the oppressors and the oppressed and can be wielded either to promote democracy or to justify authoritarianism.Ī classic example is the application of Darwin’s theory of evolution to the social realm with the aim to promote the ‘Social Darwinism’ agenda (which was not intended by Darwin, although he asserted that women were at a lower stage of evolution) 4. Science not only provides technological tools to facilitate or counteract power relationships and geopolitical agendas, but it is also used for creating the narratives and cultural frameworks that justify the privileges enjoyed by those who benefit most from the deployment of technologies. Science and the power it unleashes have been intermingled with class, gender, religion, national identity and the politics underlying social and economic dynamics 1– 3.
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