Intellectuals’ folly, credulity over corona helped China

Such was the hatred for Trump that Fauci’s role in promoting the controversial gain-of-function research was ignored.

Over a year after a bunch of scientists manipulated global opinion into acceding to accept the natural origin theory of the novel coronavirus, and concomitantly banished the possibility of its birth in a lab, the natural origin orthodoxy has been badly shaken, primarily by the prominent science journalist Nicholas Wade. He has hinted at a concerted endeavour, if not a global conspiracy, aimed at proving that the origin of the novel coronavirus was natural. The recent developments not only underline the disingenuousness of some dishonest scientists but also the credulity of intellectuals all over the world who unquestioningly accepted the scientists’ lies as gospel.

In an exhaustive article in the prestigious magazine The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, Wade talked about the thought leaders’ anti-trump obsession supporting the natural origin theory which helped the Chinese. “Another reason [for the acceptance of the natural origin theory], perhaps, is the migration of much of the media toward the left of the political spectrum. Because [former US] President [Donald] Trump said the virus had escaped from a Wuhan lab, editors gave the idea little credence. They joined the virologists in regarding lab escape as a dismissible conspiracy theory”.

This attitude—of deriving a theory, or even an entire worldview, from a simple idea—is the antithesis of science; it is indeed at odds with every branch of knowledge like political science and jurisprudence which is based on empirical evidence. It is foundationalism at its worst.

If there is one word that defines the principal affliction of the mainstream media and public intellectuals, it is “apriorism”. Collins Dictionary defines “apriorism” as “the philosophical doctrine that there may be genuine knowledge independent of experience.” The operative part here is independent of experience. Often, the doctrine develops hostility toward empirical evidence.

The top opinion makers’ a priori belief—that is, the belief independent of empirical evidence—was that whatever Trump says is a lie (A factcheck industry thrived to prove him a liar, stupid, or worse). A natural corollary was that the opposite of what Trump says is true; indeed its truth is selfevident, thus requiring no proof. It was not just unscientific but anti-scientific attitude that prevailed all over the world in the recent past; it still does to some extent.

Intellectuals’ affliction has cost the world, not them, dear. Top scientists and public health activists closed ranks to claim that the origin of the novel coronavirus was natural. “We stand together to strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that Covid-19 does not have a natural origin,” a number of prominent virologists and others wrote in the top international medical journal Lancet on February 19, 2020.

Wade has pointed out that at that time “it was really far too soon for anyone to be sure what had happened.” Yet, the scientists “overwhelmingly conclude[d] that this coronavirus originated in wildlife.”

The scientifically unsubstantiated assertion became an indubitable fact; and anybody, from conservative American politicians to dissenting scientists, questioning the novel coronavirus’ natural origin was accused of peddling a conspiracy theory. Trump and his political allies were of course hauled over the coals, but even credentialled experts were silenced. Like Chinese virologist Li-meng Yan, who is now in the US. In September last year, Twitter suspended her account for the unpardonable sin of saying in public that China had “manufactured” the coronavirus in a Wuhan lab.

While the mainstream media and Big Tech acted like the Inquisition to support China, nobody bothered to check the intentions of the scientists who had emphatically asserted the natural origin theory. According to Wade, “It later turned out that the Lancet letter had been organized and drafted by Peter Daszak, president of the Ecohealth Alliance of New York. Daszak’s organization funded coronavirus research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. If the SARS2 virus had indeed escaped from research he funded, Daszak would be potentially culpable. This acute conflict of interest was not declared to the Lancet’s readers. To the contrary, the letter concluded, ‘We declare no competing interests’.” Daszak, a devious manipulator, took the world for a ride for more than a year—to help the Chinese Communist Party. Just as he and others did to send American taxpayers’ money to the Wuhan Institute of Virology. According to Wade, “From June 2014 to May 2019, Daszak’s Ecohealth Alliance had a grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, to do gain-of-function research with coronaviruses at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Whether or not SARS2 is the product of that research, it seems a questionable policy to farm out high-risk research to foreign labs using minimal safety precautions. And if the SARS2 virus did indeed escape from the Wuhan institute, then the NIH will find itself in the terrible position of having funded a disastrous experiment that led to the death of more than 3 million worldwide, including more than half a million of its own citizens.”

The NIAD is headed by Anthony Fauci, the guy who received much praise from the liberal establishment in the recent past for often opposing with President Trump. Such was the hatred for Trump that Fauci’s role in promoting the controversial gain-of-function research was ignored. Gainof-function is “any research that improves the ability of a pathogen to cause disease.” The justification is that this would help mankind tackle that pathogen in the event of an outbreak caused by the pathogen under study. It looks like the researchers at Wuhan created a Frankenstein’s monster.

Worse, when the monster was created, the CCP thugs decided to unleash on the entire world; nothing else explains their reluctance to inform other countries about the deadliness of the new virus for almost two months. They knew about it, and this helped them contain it within the Hubei province in which Wuhan is situated.

Top functionaries in the US government, prominent scientists, the public health mafia, the mainstream media, Big Tech—everybody who is somebody has helped China. First to carry out morally and scientifically questionable research, and then to deflect blame from its rulers’ unconscionable actions. Those who should have seen, and seen through, the CCP’S shenanigans chose to shut their eyes and believe the fairy tales told by the fibbers like Daszak.

All because of their a priori belief that Trump never speaks the truth.

It may appear odd but it won’t be inappropriate to paraphrase a famous song from Bob Dylan’s radical phase: For how long can intellectuals behave like sheep, eagerly echoing the lies evil peddles?... How many times must they look up before they can see the sky? How many ears must they have before they can hear people cry? Yes, and how many deaths will it take ‘til they know that too many people have died? The truth is blowin’ in the wind.

The truth is: the CCP has killed millions across the globe, and it has received considerable assistance from intellectuals.

Ravi Shanker Kapoor is a freelance journalist.