Poverty Data in Politics

Abstract

What happens when research findings seem to disconfirm one’s belief or hypothesis? Our story in this chapter concentrates mainly on the 1984 controversy over poverty statistics in Israel. To better appreciate the role of politics in knowing, in constructing the factual foundations of public policy, I first introduce the question of ‘what happens when hostile data threatens one’s hypothesis’ in the context of science. This allows me to discern more clearly the “net” play of politics.

“And how many divisions did you say the Pope had available for combat duty?” (Joseph Stalin)

“If at some point democracy historically has been interpreted to be a device to bring reason to bear on policy, it is at other points a device to frustrate it — to make sure that no small group, not even one that may think it knows what needs be done, can achieve a greatly disproportionate influence on policy.” (Lindblom and Cohen, 1979, p. 70)