If Everyone Is an Expert, No One Is

Because appeals to authority and credentials are part of the social contract.

The populist right seems to have learned many of the wrong lessons from the COVID-era cratering of trust in experts and authority.

Instead of demanding more accountability from experts, populists are filling the credibility void with charlatans and cranks who do little more than assuage their confirmation bias.

Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, wasn't merely aggressively inaccurate about the COVID pandemic; he also championed authoritarian policies that inflicted untold damage on the country, decimating public trust in institutions.

But Fauci's actions aren't a stain on "expertise" as much as another instance of a leader abusing his power.

Discarding decades of accrued public health knowledge because Fauci acted poorly is like rejecting moral truths because your priest acted immorally.

Indeed, turning to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the country's health policy is like turning back to Baalism because your rabbi skimmed from the till.

Expertise is real, but it is not holy writ, which is why we should stop expecting people with specialized knowledge to be imbued with seer-like abilities.

Economists are often wrong in predicting unemployment rates or GDP growth because an economy entails millions of people making hundreds of millions of decisions every day.

That doesn't mean they're wrong about comparative advantage, moral hazard or supply and demand.

On the flip side, a correct prediction doesn't automatically make you an expert, either.

There are public figures who prophesize market crashes and pandemics every year. Sooner or later, they're going to be "right."

But much of populist aggrievement about experts and elites is based on aesthetics and tone.

When Douglas Murray, who spent years reporting and writing on the Middle East, appeared on Joe Rogan's popular podcast debating a comedian about the Israel-Hamas war last week, pundits complained about his haughty tone and appeals to authority.

Imagine, if you can, the subject matter you know best, the thing that you've spent years, perhaps decades, considering, experiencing and mastering.

Now, imagine a stranger who has spent about five minutes contemplating the same topic walking into your place of work and declaring that everything you know is false.

He answers to no one. He isn't obligated to cite research or build on a tradition of knowledge.

The more outlandish and transgressive he is, in fact, the more popular he becomes. He makes a living on sophistry and emotional appeals and dunks.

You, on the other hand, don't have the luxury of making things up on the fly because you answer to a boss and colleagues and have a reputation that is built on experience.

This is what probably exasperated Murray.

Sure, it's bad form to be dismissive of others simply because they lack the same experience or knowledge — but it makes complete sense to be dismissive of someone with a superficial understanding of a topic who acts like he or she knows more than you.

We are sliding into relativism. The inclination to upend the status quo and break things leads people to oppose reactively whatever "elites" have ever said.

This is just self-destructive.

(COMMENT, BELOW)

Previously:
• 03/31/25: The Left's Imaginary COVID 'Reckoning'
• 03/21/25: Sorry, Conspiracy Theorists -- Lee Harvey Oswald Acted Alone
• 03/03/25: Mitch McConnell: A GOP Hall of Famer?
• 02/21/25: RFK's Dangerous Autism Lie
• 02/14/25: It's Time to End the EV Racket
• 02/07/25: If You Really Support Immigration, Stop Excusing Chaos
• 02/03/25: Trump's Gaza Proposal Makes Complete Sense
• 01/24/25: How Biden's Pardons Normalize Abuse of Power
• 01/17/25: Israel Makes a Deal With the Actual Devil
• 01/13/25: Why Javier Milei Matters
• 12/20/24: The Obama Doctrine Is Dead
• 12/13/24: It's time for a national conversation about left-wing violence
• 12/09/24: It's time for a national conversation about left-wing violence
• 11/08/24: Don't Trash the Constitution to Dunk on the Libs
• 11/08/24: This 'liberation' will NOT be reported
• 11/01/24: HARRIS Is the Bigger Threat to the Constitutional Order
• 09/20/24: Fact checked! Harris Is the Extremist
• 07/13/24: Explain Yourself, Kamala Harris!
• 07/05/24: How Biden's Mental Decline Went From 'Misinformation' to Fact in a Week
• 04/12/24: Biden Is Now Chasing the 'Death to America' Voter
• 03/15/24: Turns Out Biden Lied About Hur, Beau, And Why He Pilfered Classified Docs
• 02/09/24: Why Biden Is Threatening to Veto Aid to Israel
• 02/09/23: Electric Cars Are a Scam
• 06/30/23: Americans Have Never Been Less Threatened by 'Extreme Weather'
• 03/03/23: Questioning Biden's Ukraine Policy Doesn't Make You an 'Isolationist'
• 01/20/23: No ribbons? Don't hide behind religion!
• 01/13/23: On Classified Documents, Joe Biden Is Out of Excuses
• 04/29/22: Biden's Ministry of Truth
• 04/08/22: The Most Radical Abortion Law in the Nation
• 04/01/22: Recuse Yourself, Joe Biden
• 03/25/22: No, School Boards Are Not 'Banning Books'
• 03/11/22: Let Them Drive Teslas
• 01/28/22: It's Not Government's Job to 'Root Out' Misinformation
• 01/14/22: Biden's Big Elections Lie
• 01/07/22: Schumer's Ugly 'Voting Rights' Gamble
• 12/24/21:AOC's Grasp on American Governance Is a 'Farce'
• 12/17/21: Dems Pivot from Build Back Better to Useless Extremism
• 11/19/21: Reckoning' Over Steele Dossier?
• 10/15/21: The Biden White House Will Pay for Playing Inflation Games
• 09/24/21: The most demonstrable political scandal still ignored
• 09/17/21: Sorry, AOC, The Rich Already Pay Their Fair Share
• 09/02/21: Why Isn't Biden to Blame for COVID-19 Deaths?
• 08/06/21: Biden's Unprecedented Attack on the Constitution
• 07/30/21: Jan. 6 Was Deplorable. It Was NOT a Coup
• 06/21/21: The Myth of Republican Obstructionism
• 05/21/21: What Does Putin Have on Biden?
• 04/16/21: Kristen Clarke Is Unfit to Be in Government
• 03/26/21: No to DC Statehood is far from GOP being reflexive
• 03/22/21: Biden Prepares to Strip College Students of Due Process Rights The Hypocrisy of the Filibuster Busters
• 03/12/21: Biden Prepares to Strip College Students of Due Process Rights
• 03/05/21: AOC's Terrible Minimum Wage Argument
• 02/12/21: The Dem Party Is Radicalizing against the Constitution
• 02/05/21: What NOT to Do with Marjorie Taylor Greene
• 01/15/21: Free Speech Is a Value Not Just a Right
• 12/31/20: It Can't Get Any Worse Than 2020. Here's a 2021 Political Wish List
• 10/26/20: Wanted: An Honest Debate about the Death Penalty
• 10/26/20: These are the questions 'Big Guy' Biden must be forced to answer about Hunter's emails
• 09/11/20: The Dems' Dangerous Delegitimization of the Election
• 08/28/20: Biden Is Underperforming Hillary in Battleground States
• 08/14/20: Kamala Harris, Imaginary Centrist
• 07/24/20: Who you calling a fascist?
• 07/17/20: Speech Police have finally gone too far
• 07/03/20: 'But Gorsuch' Is Still Trump's Best Argument
• 06/22/20: Welcome to America's Cultural Revolution
• 06/12/20: The color of my skin is not an indictment of my morality, nor does it strip me of my agency
• 06/05/20: What this son of immigrants knows about bulding bussinesses --- and the dismay of destruction
• 05/28/20: The Folly of Twitter's Fact-Check
• 05/22/20: Dems Warning Trump Will Reject Election Results Should Look in the Mirror
• 05/15/20: Obamagate Is NOT a Conspiracy Theory
• 05/08/20: Really, Joe --- due process is the opposite of justice?