Sfârşitul competenţei

Tom Nichols asks why people reject experts and distrust their skills. He argues that easy access to facts can breed false trust in what we know. People who read online may think they know as much as experts. This can include health or how states deal with each other. They may seek equal respect for all views, however weak. When others challenge them, they may see an elite attack on equal rights.

This book deals with facts about politics and social life. It looks at the risks to rule by the people. Nichols says the web is not the sole cause of distrust. He looks at colleges that treat students as customers. He also looks at media that put fun first at all times. In his view, more facts need not help people grasp them. They can breed anger and scorn for hard-won knowledge. He warns that this puts bodies that serve democracy at risk. They may fall prey to populism, which claims to speak for ordinary people. Or they may come under the rule of technical experts.

This second edition revises the text and adds more to it. New examples draw on Donald Trump's leadership and the COVID-19 pandemic. Cristian Fulaş translates the work. Its source title is The Death of Expertise. It is part of the Plural M series.