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SCIENCE STUDIES EVENTS
PUBLICS FOR NANOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY IN
CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES
Susanna Priest
College of Mass Communications and Information Studies
University of South Carolina
April 13, 2005
Wednesday, 12:30pm-2:00pm
Sumwalt College, Room 102
Efforts to resolve differences of opinion regarding biotechnology (such as
GM foods) through various public discussion modalities, such as consensus
conferences, tend to ignore the existence of worldviews that may be
irreconcilable. Analysis of survey data on U.S. and Canadian opinion about
biotech reveal that the so-called "general public" is better thought of as
composed of several distinct groups: "true believers" who proceed from the
assumption that science is inherently progressive, utilitarians that want
experts to develop policy by weighing risks and benefits, moral
authoritarians who seek guidance from ethical or religious leadership, and
two smaller groups that want individuals to be empowered to make their own
decisions, whether on scientific or ethical grounds. Many opinion
differences between the U.S. and Canada can be explained by differences in
the distributions of these groups. New data from a February 2005 survey
(again of Canada and the U.S.) provide the opportunity to explore whether
this kind of analysis may also explain differences in receptivity to
nanotechnology, as well as the extent to which these distinct publics feel
that those who are developing these technologies share their own values.
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