There's an old axiom:
“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”
― Upton Sinclair
There are plenty of facts that extreme ideologists like those in today's Republican party (and conservatives in general) categorically reject as hoaxes, presumptions and outright lies concocted by the left in order to... I dunno... make the world a better, safer and fairer place to live for the many not the few?
Actually, this study just provides reaffirmation for most of us. The belief that an unfettered capitalist society could ever be equitable for all citizens of that society is akin to believing Jesus rode dinosaurs 4,000 years ago. The truth is, in order to thrive and prosper, society must be made up of elements of both socialism and regulated capitalism, with accent on regulation. They are the key. And the fact that the Republican party refuses to admit that plainly says they're not serious. They're not interested in a just and equitable society. Besides themselves, they only want a few people to prosper, and do so at the expense of the many.
So, if the aforementioned is indeed true, it's not at all an irrational extrapolation to believe that the ideology of denying climate change -- and/or the fact that it's caused by man -- is indisputable proof that their denials are just part and parcel of an agenda aimed at tearing down everything this country once stood for, which is: every person born in this country and those who become citizens here have a fair chance of achieving the so-called 'American dream'.
From Raw Story:
A strong belief in a hands off approach to economics is tightly linked to the rejection of scientific facts such as climate change, according to research published in Psychological Science in late March.
“The conspiracist ideation that all of the world’s scientific academies have conspired together to create a hoax known as global warming has found traction in American mainstream politics,” Stephan Lewandowsky of the University of Western Australia and his colleagues wrote in their study.
In particular, Republican Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma has alleged that thousands of scientists working independently over decades are actually part of “the greatest hoax” to increase regulation on businesses and individuals.
Myself, I believe the concept of James Inhofe actually being from Earth is more of a hoax than the danger of climate change.
The study consisted of 1,337 regular visitors to climate change denial blogs and websites. It found that general endorsement of laissez-faire free markets is indicative of the rejection of climate change and a host of other scientific facts and theories like HIV being the cause of the AIDS virus, and that cigarette smoking causes lung cancer.
“The pivotal role of personal ideology in the rejection of climate science has been repeatedly demonstrated,” Lewandowsky and his colleagues explained. “We highlighted the magnitude of this effect among climate-science blog denizens, who have a strong interest in the issue, and we additionally showed that endorsement of the free market also predicted the rejection of two other well-established scientific facts.”
Those rejecting climate change appeared more acceptive of conspiracy theories like the faked moon landing -- and that the U.S. government not only allowed but also facilitated the 9/11 terrorist attacks so they could invade the Middle East for oil.
“This finding suggests that a general propensity to endorse any of a number of conspiracy theories predisposes people to reject entirely unrelated scientific facts,” Lewandowsky and his colleagues said.
This is a collective mindset driven by the widespread dissemination of propaganda by right-wing radio talk shows, websites like World
Net Nut Daily, and Fox News.
This kind of thinking will be the death of civilization on Earth... through attrition.