by Science and Democracy have been able to coincide and exist, however, the two often conflict with each other. Science deals with finding truths to questions and this often involves the release of information. On the other hand, democracy is a system of governing a body of people through the election of representatives. While democracies often allow for freedom of speech and other liberties, authoritarian states often conflict with science. These states attempt to control the spread of information, both true and false. Although science and other more restrictive types of government often conflict with one another, Science and Democracy is a relatively straightforward process that attempts to tell the truth through facts, however, this is sometimes not the case.
Often times, communism deals with science in much different lens than what we are used to. Science is basically the common ownership of scientific knowledge. States that are communist often times create institutes which scientists are members of. This means that the work in which scientists create, are not theirs to take credit for, but is owned by the states. Moreover, in communist states, scientists have the same access to all forms of intellectual property. This often involves the tools necessary for completing their work. Secrecy within goes against everything that communist states stand for. Communist forms of government expect scientists to be completely compliant and transparent about their work. Since governments own the rights to all work created by scientists, this means that they are able to manipulate facts to minimize a particular problem. This often leads to the spread of misinformation and it creates a vacuum since misinformation can become extremely problematic. Eponymy is also another example of what occurs in science in many of the communist forms of government. When scientists find new discoveries that are extremely insightful and renowned, they are sometimes rewarded by having something named after them. This often creates a hierarchy within the scientific field and leads to scientists competing against their colleagues. Communism and science have many conflicting aspects that make it harder to find the truth and search out facts.
On the other hand, Democracy allows for a much more sustainable relationship between science and society due to the freedoms that allow for science to flourish. In democracies, scientists are able to secure funding in order to pursue further research. Additionally, scientists performing research in democracies are able to claim their own work as their own. While they still have to perform research on a certain scale, they are able to publish their work with their names at the top of the article or whatever form of research that it may be. Science in democracies also allows for the facts to be sought out and told the way that they actually are. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems that this is beginning to change. It appears that the government covers up important facts that is vital to the safety of its citizens. This not only places citizens in danger, but it also places the credibility of the government into jeopardy. The government needs to be more transparent with the way they approach the spread of facts because it leads to the manipulation of certain aspects that are crucial to the way we view society. I think that in order to achieve this goal, more thought needs to be taken in order to properly understand what the spread of misinformation causes. It lowers morale in times where it is important to band together as a nation. Additionally, individuals need to hold others accountable for their actions because when no action is taken to hold someone accountable, it lets them know that their actions are acceptable. Democracies and science have overall a rather streamlined relationship, however, it has recently become extremely conflicting during the time of a pandemic where the spread of information is important because it influences the decisions that people make.