#ericmconway — Public Fediverse posts

"Discourse Magazine" is Koch-funded Libertarian propaganda

For those unfamiliar with Discourse Magazine, it is a new-ish (~2020 launch) publication of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, both of which are strongly Libertarian, highly ideological, free-market fundamentalist, strongly aligned with the Koch family and Koch Industries, who provide major financial support and whose head, Charles Koch, serves on the board.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercatus_Center

https://www.discoursemagazine.com/about/

These are part of the larger global Atlas Network of Libertarian "think tanks" (that is, propaganda mills) founded in 1981 by Antony Fisher:

https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Atlas_Network

And are an outgrowth of the Mont Pelerin Society of "free-market' economists and propagandists.

https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Mont_Pelerin_Society

Excellent investigations of these groups include

• Jane Mayer, Dark Money: on political influence by the Kochs and others. https://archive.org/details/darkmoneyhiddenh0000maye_k2o0

• Naomi Oreskes and Eric Conway, Merchants of Doubt: on climate disinformation by the Kochs and others.https://archive.org/details/merchantsofdoubt00ores

• Oreskes and Conway, The Big Myth: on how "free markets" were sold as an ideological fable, by the Kochs and others. https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/big-myth-9781635573572/

I'd run across Discover Magazine via a recent HN submission, having been previously unaware of it: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36856215

Edits: Markdown / reordering descr/links.

#DiscourseMagazine #KochBrothers #KochIndustries #CharlesKoch #Libertarians #Libertarianism #AtlasNetwork #MontPelerinSociety #Disinformation #MerchantsOfDoubt #TheBigMyth #NaomiOreskes #DarkMoney #JaneMeyer #EricMConway

I've finally gotten 'round to reading "Unlimited Information Is Transforming Society", a SciAm article that had surfaced on HN yesterday.

Only just now realised who the authors are: #NaomiOreskes and #EricMConway. The two have collaborated on several earlier works (notably Merchants of Doubt, on intentional disinformation regarding climate change, especially that from oil and coal companies).

Oreskes also wrote (though I've only skimmed bits) on the history of the development of plate tectonics theory from a fringe suggestion considered crackpot to the central organising principle of geology, over 50 years.

Put mildly, I'm a fan.

The article is ... a bit muddled, moreso perhaps because the authors are seeking their theme in a larger space, but it hits on numerous cencepts I've been mulling for a few years makes me damned curious as to what they're up to. I'm pretty sure it's something significant.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/unlimited-information-is-transforming-society/

The HN discussion doesn't do the piece justice, though that's probably due to both length and complexity.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24392661

But yeah, I recommend giving this a close read if you're interested in #HistoryOfScience or #HistoryOfTechnology.