I saw a review in Sci Am, but it seemed strange, or maybe typical, that the author was a writer for Washington Monthly and some other lib mags. It seems that science is being politicized, but how depends on the issue. Some of it comes from scientists who become activists, especially against war and pro-environmental stuff. Some from people who worry that we’re playing God or blundering into things we don’t understand. That’s always been a fear about science. Those fears haven’t always been unjustified. I just hope we’re smart enough to know the difference.

Many techno-enthusiasts in this country would be surprised that such a thing exists. Techno-enthusiasts have guarded the right flank and have forgotten the left.

But there is an anti-science left (the ridiculous anti-GM Food activists are a good example) and it has the potential to be much more damaging to science than the religious right’s concerns about human embryos.

Whatever dangers the future holds, we simply can’t ignore it. If we outlaw genetic engineering fearing an engineered superbug, we eliminate our ability to defend against an engineered superbug. The good guys have to be the best genetic engineers, AI developers, nanotechnicians, etc.