Krugman writes: "Lysenko was a Soviet agronomist who decided that modern genetics was all wrong [...] He even denied that genes existed, while insisting that long-discredited views about evolution were actually right."
Paul Krugman. (photo: MasterClass)
29 September 20
Bully and ignore the experts, and send in the quacks.
ately I’ve found myself thinking about Trofim Lysenko.
Who? Lysenko was a Soviet agronomist who decided that modern genetics was all wrong, indeed contrary to Marxist-Leninist principles. He even denied that genes existed, while insisting that long-discredited views about evolution were actually right. Real scientists marveled at his ignorance.
But Joseph Stalin liked him, so Lysenko’s views became official doctrine, and scientists who refused to endorse them were sent to labor camps or executed. Lysenkoism became the basis for much of the Soviet Union’s agricultural policy, eventually contributing to the disastrous famines of the 1930s.
Does all of this sound a bit familiar given recent events in America?
