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Many scientists are skeptical of non-scientists and non-scientists are skeptical of scientists. An interesting application of this statement is Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956), a German poet, playwright, and theater director. Brecht was a devoted Marxist and used theater as an opportunity to pass on his political ideas.

The play Life of Galileo not only expressed his anti-capitalist theory, but also attacked the scientific community. In scene 14, Brecht wrote of scientists, “the best that can be hoped for is a race of inventive dwarfs who can be hired for any purpose.” This line criticized capitalism because, like scientists, lawyers, soldiers, and other professions are paid to do a job they might believe is unethical. A lawyer might defend a person that is without a doubt guilty, or a soldier might be sent to a foreign country to fight an unpopular war. Unfortunately, in a market economy, most jobs have supervisors and to make a living workers have to follow company policies.

With the world in recession, it is difficult to imagine an economy where people turned down job offers based on conflicting ethical views. I live in Michigan, where the unemployment rate is over 15%. Most people in my state want to make enough money for their mortgage and food expenses beyond that thinking of their jobs, as “a race of inventive dwarfs” would be unappreciative of their employment.