Merchants of Doubt

by

Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway

“Merchants of doubt” is Oreskes and Conway’s titular term for scientists who use their political influence to undermine scientific consensus about environmental and public health issues like climate change, pollution, and the dangers of secondhand smoke.
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Merchants of Doubt Term Timeline in Merchants of Doubt

The timeline below shows where the term Merchants of Doubt appears in Merchants of Doubt. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 6
Science, Trust, and Public Policy Theme Icon
...agreed to fight global warming. Doubling Down on Denial. Oreskes and Conway explain how the merchants of doubt stepped up their campaign in response. They began attacking the climate modeler Benjamin Santer, who... (full context)
Conclusion
Science, Trust, and Public Policy Theme Icon
Media Bias Theme Icon
...the mainstream media still treated it as legitimate, and it’s still circulating today. Finally, the merchants of doubt publish their work in sources like the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, which sounds... (full context)
Science, Trust, and Public Policy Theme Icon
Capitalism and the Environment Theme Icon
...and the Cold War Legacy. Anti-communism was absolutely central to 20th-century American politics. The main merchants of doubt (Seitz, Singer, Nierenberg, and Jastrow) built careers around using science to fight communism during the... (full context)
Capitalism and the Environment Theme Icon
In other words, the merchants of doubt believe in “free market fundamentalism”—they think that society will only be free if the economy... (full context)