One of the more curious features of modern civilization is the vast disparity in the ethical standards prevailing in the academic and political worlds.
In the political world, plagiarism is par for the course, as is intellectual dishonesty and promise-breaking. In most countries, truth-in-advertising laws are almost never applied to election advertising. (A court in the UK recently voided an election because the succesful candidate told what was later proved to be a lie during the campaign, but such sanctions are rare). In universities, at least in the Western world, plagiarism and the fabrication of evidence are regarded as cardinal sins. Not surprisingly, the intellectual standards in the academic world are much higher than in politics. Academics’ arguments have to be supported by evidence and are only really respected once they have passed through peer review, preferably of the double-blind type. Ad hominem arguments are frowned upon.
The irony, of course, is that universities are supported by the State, which is controlled by politicians. Moreover, politicians are far more likely to have university degrees than the average adult, which suggests that ethical and intellectual standards taught at universities were soon forgotten by those graduates who went into politics.
I am, therefore, very interested in the anti-plagiarism campaign in Germany, where two prominent politicians have recently been forced to resign because it was revealed their PhD theses had been plagiarized.
Read more here, here, and here.
Notice how Silvana Koch-Mehrin’s election advertisement (below) alluded to the fact she has a doctorate. In the English-speaking world, having an advanced degree is often seen as a liability for politicians.
The German situation is pretty interesting from my outsider’s perspective.
The Past Speaks 