The Marvels of Mt. Huang

MT. Huang rises above Anhui Province along the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. With a circumference of 250 km, Mt. Huang is as grand as Mt. Tai, as steep as Mt. Hua, as cool as Mt. Emei, and as abundant with clouds and mast as Mt. Heng, as abundant in waterfalls as Mt. Lu and displays as many strangely shaped rocks as Mt. Yandang. Mt. Huang is well-known both in China and abroad and is considered a premier peak in the world. Everyone who visits Mount Huang—from tourists to poets to painters—is overwhelmed by the sight of it. This peak was first named Mt. Yi. In Chinese yi means black and bright. In 747 the     

The Politicization of Knowledge Claims: The “Laffer Curve” in the U.S. Congress

Political debates over knowledge claims often become emotionally charged, with two sides not only disputing what is true but seeing those on the other side as deluded or worse. By looking at use of the term “Laffer curve” in the U.S. Congress from 1977 to 2010, we draw attention to two ways such debates over knowledge claims can evolve. The Laffer curve is a simple schematic representation of the relationship between tax rates and government revenue that was influential in U.S. tax policy in the late 1970s. Early on, Republicans and Democrats faced off over the Laffer curve as a cognitive symbol to be debated with argument, evidence, and reference to experts. Over time, Republicans continued to treat the Laffer curve as a cognitive symbol, but for Democrats it became a polluted expressive symbol that could be dismissed without debate. Democrats also articulated the Laffer curve as part of an ironic narrative about the failure of the Reagan administration, which ended the possibility of serious deliberation. We suggest that the dynamics seen here may also be present around other politicized knowledge claims, such as the claim that human activity is causing climate change.