When the Experts Are Wrong: Krugman, Science, and the Cost of Unquestioned Authority

“By 2005 or so, it will become clear that the Internet’s impact on the economy has been no greater than the fax machine’s.”

— Paul Krugman, 1998

That’s not satire.

That’s not taken out of context.

That’s a direct quote from a Nobel Prize-winning economist.

The same man now warns us that “MAGA” is destroying science.

That a temporary NSF grant freeze signals the end of America’s research engine.

That we should panic, immediately and without question.

But maybe it’s time we do ask questions.

A Guardian of Decay Pattern? You decide.

Krugman doesn’t build arguments.

He builds fear machines.

• No evidence of intent? Doesn’t matter.

• No clear link between policy and outcome? Doesn’t matter.

• Just trust the tone. Panic on cue. Obey.

In this latest piece, he paints half the country as anti-science zealots without engaging a single policy on its merits. It’s not debate—it’s moral theater.

The Real Problem

Science isn’t dying.

But the credibility of those who speak for it is, especially when they talk like this.

The more these figures trade rigor for alarmism, the more the public tunes out.

And that’s a loss for everyone.

Krugman’s quote about the internet should be burned into every reader’s mind.

Not because he should be mocked, but because it’s a stark reminder:

Expert status is no shield against error.

The Rule

Challenge all assumptions.

If we don’t, we leave the gates wide open for the next wave of intellectual decay.

Not from “anti-science” voters, but from those who were never held accountable at all, like many Guardians Of Decay.

Final Thought

Krugman said the internet would be no more impactful than the fax machine the year I graduated college.

27 years later and I am using the internet.

Now he tells you the end of science is here.

You decide which statement aged worse.

Just don’t let fear wear the mask of truth.