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Well, yeah, especially if they have PhD’s, like Chris. However, excommunication seems like an astonishingly authoritarian move and inappropriate to a field such as political science. The same goes for economics. That’s why I tend to refer to economics and political science as disciplines, or fields, rather than professions, like law, medicine and accounting where you are afforded state-supported credentials that bar others from entry. Removing a person from an association for an ethical breech—plagiarism comes to mind—is one thing; preventing them from working is another.
Alexandra Samuel seems to be proposing exactly that. It appears that receiving her degree has gone to her head.
Eugene Volokh and Jim Lindgren have more.
Update (from CNL): Dr. Samuel has a response to the conspirators.
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5 comments:
It seems to me that if a political scientist does something that is so egregiously bad so as to warrant “excommunication,” the job market itself would be a fairly effective sanction, at least for untenured faculty. Disagreements over policy (such as Dr. Samuel’s disagreement), however, do not rise to that level…
It also seems to me that if Jim Lindgren is going to use a title (at all) for Alexandra Samuel, the title “Dr.” is preferable to the possibly-condescending “Ms.” But I’m somewhat pedantic on that point.
I am biting my tongue. Truly, I am.
WTF is up with Samuel’s comment on Chomsky? Chomsky’s degree is in linguistics, IIRC, as is his scholarly work. His polemics have exactly zero to do with his expertise, as they are all political.
Scipio,
Her comment on Chomsky doesn’t apply to me. I don’t mind him speaking, though I generally loath what he says. I’ve heard that the easiest way to get Chomsky to shut up is to ask him a question about linguistics.
“Removing a person from an association for an ethical breech—plagiarism comes to mind—is one thing; preventing them from working is another.”
For the Leftists, the first is optional (particularly if they agree with that person’s political positions), but the second – particularly for someone whose positions they disagree with – is a requirement.