How the Cold War Distorted Science

In the aftermath of the Second World War, another conflict began brewing between the two new world powers, the USA and the Soviet Union. However, this war was not fought on the battlefield but in the realms of economics, science, and art. In science, this battle had significant implications that led to famine and food shortages for millions of people.

With the advent of new ideas from people like Darwin and Mendel, the concepts of natural selection and genetics began to be explored. This marked a significant point, asserting that the genetics of living beings influence their outcomes. However, this posed a major contradiction to Marxism, which viewed class struggle, not genetic inheritance, as the primary determinant of human capabilities and societal development. So, when Trofim Lysenko, a Ukrainian agronomist, came forward with a different explanation, it was warmly received.

Lysenko rejected Mendelian genetics and the concept of the gene, instead promoting the idea that environmental conditions alone could alter the heritable traits of plants and animals. He claimed, for example, that wheat could be transformed into rye through environmental change. Over time, Joseph Stalin became a fan and adopted Lysenkoism as state policy, eliminating any scientist who tried to promote or investigate genetics further. This suppression of scientific truth in favor of political ideology led to widespread crop failures and exacerbated the severity of famines, as agricultural policies based on flawed science failed to produce the promised yields.

The legacy of Lysenkoism serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of allowing political agendas to dictate scientific discourse. It underscores the importance of maintaining the integrity of scientific inquiry, free from political or ideological influence, and the potentially tragic consequences when this principle is violated.

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