Notes

Leave it to the authorities. Experts have long played a prominent role in American governance. A century ago, H.L. Mencken noted that New York City employed so many types of experts that it had now put several "general experts" on the payroll.

The trend toward greater specialization has only continued since. Political leaders have become increasingly reliant on policy experts—but meanwhile, these experts have become increasingly political. Whether it’s on climate change or epidemiology, or matters of social justice, experts—leaning on their credentials—now routinely pronounce on politically contentious issues, even issues they’re not experts on. Why is this?

Today, David A. Hopkins explores the question in the context of the sharp decline in trust toward public-policy experts on the American right—and the growing political divide along educational lines in American society as a whole.

—Gustav Jönsson