Anjana Ahuja - Spike: The Virus versus the People

The Covid-19 pandemic has cast a searing light on the fraught relationship between science, politics and democracy. On the one hand, scientists and public health specialists have developed novel vaccines and effective safety protocols with astonishing speed, saving the lives of millions in many western democracies. On the other hand, politicians and citizens have questioned, distrusted and resisted scientific advice in the name of individual rights and political freedom, in a populist age where the concepts of expertise, objectivity and truth are under assault. Arguably, never before has scientific research, with its uncertainties and contradictions, been conducted under such pressure, scrutiny and transparency in real time. The pandemic, given the resistance of anti-vax proponents in many western democracies and the severe inequalities of vaccine distribution in much of the global South, continues to unfold.

What is the normal relationship between science and politics in our democracies? How have our leaders handled this relationship, and the nexus between authority and consent, during the pandemic? What is the ideal balance in a global emergency?

The Financial Times science columnist, Anjana Ahuja, analyzes how these issues played out in the United Kingdom, and the wider lessons we need to embrace, in conversation with Sanjay Ruparelia.