Humility in Science and Politics

The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.

The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.  – Psalm 19: 1, 7

I sat in silence before God and His creation as I observed the beautiful sunrise over Lake Howard in Winter Haven, FL.  The march of brilliant gold and orange hues across the expanse of the morning sky above and the still waters of the lake below seemed to swallow me in the glory of God all around me. 

Sunrise over Lake Howard in Winter Haven, Florida

Beneath my perch on the boat dock, the water was coming alive through the movements of many tiny creatures awakening to the warmth of the sun’s rays. The shallow water teemed with algae, protozoa, and arthropods.  Fish swam amid the littoral grasses and blooming pickerelweed.  A pair of ducks creased the golden glassy surface of the lake as they swam effortlessly in front of me.  Overhead, hundreds of martins and a few herons and ibises graced the sky.

While a myriad of biotic interactions of Lake Howard responded to the rising sun, the sound of automobile and truck traffic around the lake reminded me of the human population of Winter Haven.  Commuters, tourists, and seasonal migrants (“snowbirds”) interact with the natural and built landscape around the lake, each one contributing to the local economy.  My mind drifted to thoughts of the complexity of the “still somewhat free market” economy of America.  I was humbled and awed once again by its capacity to provide goods and services in spite of the tendency of humans toward greed and depravity.  Adam Smith attributed the seemingly unexplainable workings of the market economy to an “invisible hand.”

Now, the sun has appeared at the horizon to my right and I must shift my gaze away from it lest the energy of its life-giving rays damage the visual receptors of my eyes.  I was reminded that many times in Scripture, men have responded to the glory of God with reverent fear lest they “see God and die” (e.g. Exodus 24:9-11).  Likewise, we must respect the workings of God’s creation, learning to fear and respect the power of sun, torrential rain, lightning, tornado, fire, and hurricane.  Each of these fearsome elements of the Earth are necessary in some form to support life.  But they each must have our humble respect if we are to avoid death.

Although no human can fully comprehend the complex workings of either an ecosystem or an economic system, we have been honored by our Creator as appointed stewards of both.  Today, the economy (from oikonomia (Gr.) = “management of a household”) looms large as a determiner of how humans interact with the creation, the so-called “natural world.”  Whereas, in pre-industrial days, most people interacted directly with the forces of nature to obtain food, clothing, and shelter, today most people interact through numerous and complex interactions of the market economy—still influenced by “the invisible hand.”

As the sun now shines above the lake, I am being serenaded by redwing blackbirds and warblers who, like my wife and I, are enjoying this warm, southern latitude before migrating north.  As egrets, ibises, and herons fly across Lake Howard, their vocal expressions join with the sounds of the bustling economy of Winter Haven.  I am humbled, though not nearly enough, at the thought of how blessed I am as an American to have freedom and access to essential elements for life and many amenities besides.

Whether necessity or amenity, each of our goods and services are procured and supplied by people willing to submit to a daily schedule of work and rest.  In return, each worker is rewarded with some wage or salary based on economic and ethical considerations of their employers.  In somewhat like manner, each nonhuman creature of Lake Howard must also labor to obtain food and shelter while avoiding nearby predators.  The reward for the effort of each nonhuman creature is food and survival for another hour, or another day.

Upon contemplating the rising of the sun, the awakening of an aquatic ecosystem, and the onset of another day of labor for farmers, fishermen, homemakers, teachers, health care workers, scientists, lawyers, and corporate executives, I sit in awe that our civilization functions as well as it does.  Who can comprehend the awesomeness of the threads holding it together?  And at the heart of it all is an essential element of moral and ethical commitment to love and respect our neighbor as ourselves.  Each worker has an essential daily role-- the mother who packs lunches and sees her children off to school, the bus driver who provides safe transportation, and the computer programmer who maintains essentials like traffic control, power grids, telecommunication, law enforcement, and national defense.

As I reflect on the wonder and complexity that has unfolded in front of me on this winter morning at the shore of a Florida lake, I am not only humbled, but I am also confronted with many questions.  What then should be the attitude of one who exercises “steward leadership” in our scientific and technological society?  Wouldn’t he recognize the complexity of creation, the challenge it is to quantify and model complex processes and interactions, and our proneness to error?  Wouldn’t she recognize the tendency to view creation in too narrow of terms that must give away to deeper understanding—e.g. recall how classical, Newtonian physics was expanded to quantum physics; or in genetics, the transition from “heritability of acquired characteristics” to Mendelian genetics?  In regard to the latter, is he or she aware of the pitfall of Lysenkoism, defined metaphorically as the manipulation or distortion of the scientific process as a way to reach a predetermined conclusion as dictated by an ideological bias, often related to social or political objectives.  [See “Imagination that Contradicts the Reality of Science” Where I have noted how Trofim Lysenko diminished Russian progress in genetics because communist ideology bedded down with bad science.]

Considering the complexity of creation and human proneness to err in even the best science, steward leaders in science must insist on rigorous and repeated hypothesis testing, while providing for open communication and peer review of results in a scientific atmosphere free from “manipulation or distortion of the scientific process” for political gain.  For example, it is particularly disheartening to hear sweeping or derogatory statements about “climate change” from political leaders who know little about the challenge of modeling Earth’s climatology and predicting future climate trends.  Sec. John Kerry’s recent statement on climate change promotes Lysenkoism (metaphorically speaking) because he offers predetermined conclusions as dictated by ideological bias.  His derogatory tone discourages the open discourse necessary for scientific advancement of our understanding of Earth’s climate:

Climate change can now be considered another weapon of mass destruction, perhaps the world's most fearsome weapon of mass destruction… We should not allow a tiny minority of shoddy scientists and extreme ideologues to compete with scientific facts.

A February morning at Lake Howard in Winter Haven, FL

Secretary Kerry’s leadership influence on climate science illustrates the urgent need for responsible steward leadership in federal, state, and local government?   Returning to my ponderings on Lake Howard, I thought about the role of steward leaders in government.  Are our “civil servants” aware of the depth of responsibility and opportunity as stewards to “do good” toward their constituents?  Do they even care?  Are they aware of the history of America which, though strewn with the evidence of the depravity of all humankind, is also strewn with evidence of great sacrifice, hard work, and faithful stewardship on the part of little known Americans?  Do our political leaders remember why our founding fathers structured our federal and state governments with checks and balances to avoid concentrating power in the hands of one or a few?  Indeed, do our political leaders remember that our rights come from Almighty God above and not from government--a government of the people, by the people, and for the people?   Finally, do they realize that, given the universal sin and depravity of mankind, laws must be justly enforced and due process of the law carried out to resist corruption of our institutions—homes, churches, schools, industries, governments, and financial institutions? 

The sun is now “climbing” in the sky above me and another day has begun not only along the shores of Lake Howard but all across the globe.  Suddenly, I’m reminded of Job’s response after hearing God speak:

I know that You can do all things,
And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
'Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?'
Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand,
Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
'Hear, now, and I will speak;
I will ask You, and You instruct me.' – Job 42: 2-4

Lord, I too have spoken of “things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.”  I am only one of your creatures among many, both human and non-human creatures—all depending on your grace and provision.  Help me to do my part as a humble steward of the opportunities you have afforded to me; and, help me begin by loving you with all my heart, soul, and mind; and loving my neighbor as myself.  Amen.

Political-Economic Lessons from the "Microcosm"

If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges.
                                                – President Barack Obama, July 16, 2012 (Roanoke, VA)

President Obama is right.  Who would deny that we owe much to our parents, family, teachers, pastors, and friends who have taught us by word and example to live virtuous lives and to instill these virtues in our children and associates?   The same is true of our debt to our communities which provide the context within which we have grown and matured (recall Hilary Clinton’s dictum).

Yes, Somebody helped create this unbelievable American system….  Tracing all the way back to the 18th century, we are indebted to our founding fathers and to the European- and African-Americans who fought and died side by side in the American Revolution to win the religious and political freedoms described in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.  Having learned from harsh experience, the founders were careful to name the source of our freedom and opportunity.  They viewed themselves as having been

endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…

Powers of government including taxation are derived “from the consent of the governed” not from a monarch such as the King of England.  As we have stated elsewhere in Oikonomia, civil servants are to exercise stewardship of the power and resources granted to them by the governed.  Therefore, President Obama is correct when he says that we “thrive” because of somebody else who invested in roads and bridges.  We have all driven on layer upon layer of asphalt which in turn may have been layered on top of bricks, or even logs from the days of the “corduroy road.”  Taxes and tolls collected by government in the past and present maintain roads and bridges.  But, where does our president go next with his logic?

President Obama continues in his Roanoke speech:

If you've got a business, you didn't build that.  Somebody else made that happen.  The Internet didn't get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet.

Here the President seems to confuse the role of steward and master; or, the source of power and the wielder of power.  He suggests, that if you are a businessman or woman, “you didn’t build that” business; the government did because government built the highways on which your goods are marketed, and the internet which supports your communications and transactions. 

If the President’s logic is true, the founding fathers and many Americans have it backwards; and government is not the steward or “public servant” of the citizens from whom governing powers are derived.  Instead, he views government as “master” and originator of our prosperity.  In the President’s view, government is the green plant in the room—it takes the soil, the water, and the sunshine and supplies “food” to the private sector.   Government is the producer (or autotroph) and we, the governed, are the consumers (heterotrophs) who flourish from the benefits it provides.  Hence, “you didn’t build that”, government did.   But wait, Mr. President.  Did you ever study food chains, producers, and consumers in your science classes?

Although analogies always have their limits, a “producer-consumer analogy” may be helpful.    First, it should be obvious that government is not sustained by drawing its sustenance from soil, water, and sunshine.  Instead, the life blood of government is our tax dollars.  What it doesn’t get from taxes, it prints or borrows.  Therefore, because government is not self-supporting, it is not a producer or autotroph analogous to a green plant or algae.  Instead, government is a consumer or heterotroph that must extract its “nourishment” from another source; namely, the governed, and ultimately, the private sector where tax revenue is generated.   The private sector which produces goods, services, and jobs is the producer; government is the dependent consumer.

I tested this relationship in a couple of tiny models of the “real world”, called microcosms (“little worlds”).  Each microcosm is a 1-pint (373-ml) glass pickle jar containing the following:

>   pond water (not quite filling the jar to allow for an “atmosphere”)
>   algae (Spirogyra) – enough to create a light tinge of green
>   pond weed – 1 sprig for food and scaffolding for animal life
>   1 diving beetle
>   2 aquatic snails (1 small and 1 medium size)
>   1  dead plant stem (5-cm length)
>   Countless tiny crustaceans and microscopic organisms in the pond water

(A) "Microcosm"; (B) Snail and diving beetle; (C) Snail and oxygen from algae

Each microcosm was sealed off from the outside atmosphere with cellophane wrap and a rubber band, and placed in a window receiving indirect sunlight.   After 10 days, all populations were still alive. However, the algae was being consumed by snails faster than it could grow—the first hint that the system was not sustainable.

How about oxygen, the vital gas we all need to live?  Can you imagine aquarium animals living 10 days after the air pump was cut off?  However, in our microcosm, the algae (and pond weed) absorbs sunlight and uses dissolved carbon dioxide and mineral nutrients to “photosynthesize” oxygen needed for all life in the microcosm.  No need for an air pump!  The producer algae also photosynthesizes sugars, proteins, lipids, and other building blocks necessary for growth as well as to provide food for the consumers, snails and countless smaller animal forms.

Interestingly, the diving beetle carries its own oxygen in a large air bubble which it picks up at the interface of the water and atmosphere before it dives down and functions underwater.   When the oxygen level in the bubble drops, the beetle returns to the surface for a fresh “air tank.”  Where does this oxygen in the microcosm’s atmosphere come from?   [Right, it comes from the underwater producer algae and escapes to the atmosphere of the microcosm.]

Can you understand that sunlight is the primary driver of the microcosm as it is in the biosphere of Earth?  Without the sunny window, the producer algae would not have photosynthesized the oxygen and food needed for the consumer snails and other aquatic animals.  Unfortunately, the producer algae were unable grow fast enough to provide food for the consumers.   By day 12, consumer snails had eaten most of the algae-- and thus, their food and oxygen supply for the future.

Our microcosm analogy is limited in its ability to represent the Earth’s biosphere.  The small scale of the tiny jar and the simplicity of its food chain make its survival more precarious than the biosphere of Earth.  However, the fate of our overgrazed algae corresponds closely enough to our overtaxed citizens and bloated government to cause us to pause in serious contemplation when we hear Washington asking us for higher taxes so the government can add new programs for “job creation.”  The government can no more “create jobs” than the snails can create more producer algae.  Instead, the government would do well to encourage the real producers of jobs, the private sector.  In our analogy, the government’s role should be to either enhance the growth of algae or reduce its own consumption.

Some in Washington who recognize the value of the private sector (our producer algae) still favor wrong-headed solutions such as “creating jobs” using tax dollars which ultimately come from the private sector (producer algae). However, we should be learning from the bitter lessons of the billions spent on failed “stimulus packages” and from the poor investment of tax dollars on “green industries” that have gone belly-up in spite of these government subsidies.

Again, the natural order of the creation and even in our microcosmic models suggest that subsidizing the system can cause great damage.  Three days after creating several microcosms, I added a “sugar subsidy” to one microcosm in the form of a small volume of dissolved table sugar.   After all, algae produce sugars by photosynthesis, and sugar is a form of food, so won’t sugar help the microcosm to flourish?

Comparison of "Control" with "+Sugar" on Day 14

On day 10 when our “Control” microcosm was still functioning well, the “+Sugar” microcosm had become cloudy due to the presence of billions of bacteria that were thriving on the sugar.  Meanwhile, the algae and pond weed was turning yellow and becoming unable to photosynthesize food and oxygen in the natural way.   Within a few more days, the snails and other animal forms had died, leaving only the diving beetle which survived on the limited oxygen remaining in the atmosphere above.   The “sugar subsidy” didn’t bring prosperity.

Our experiment suggests that there is a natural order in creation in which the population of producers will determine the numbers or biomass of consumers that can live in a given area.  If the consumers over-consume or otherwise destroy the producers (e.g. overgrazing), it is only a matter of time until the system will crash.  Proper stewardship of the creation should conserve the built-in controls that regulate consumer and producer populations.

Although we have seen that consumers are dependent on producers, we should note that consumers also provide “services” that benefit producers.  For example, producers might be protected from overgrazing by consumers (e.g. white-tail deer) when other consumers (e.g. bear, wolf) prey upon the grazers and thereby maintain a limited, healthy population of grazers.  Likewise, many insects, birds, and bats promote pollination of flowers necessary to produce seeds and reproduction.   Consumers are valuable in creation just as “limited government” by the people has its important role.

The order of creation doesn’t justify total elimination of government.  Just as there are mutually beneficial relationships between producers and consumers in creation, so there are legitimate responsibilities of government-- to protect its citizens from invasion, maintain law and order, and ensure just balances in the market place so that job producers in the private sector can grow their businesses in support of a prosperous economy?

So, President Obama is correct when he says we should thank someone else for our success.  But, I’d start with God Almighty from Whom come our rights including ”Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”  Then, I’m thankful for godly public and civil servants and workers who maintain law and order and an environment in which entrepreneurs can follow their dreams and “get there” by their creativity.   Thankfully, our founding fathers understood the relationship between government and the private sector, and sought to promote the various roles of each under the Constitution they provided for us.