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Global Warming: A Case Study in Groupthink: How science can shed new light on the most important 'non-debate' of our time
Christopher Booker looks back on the history of the global warming scare and considers how Irving Janis's seminal work on "groupthink" can help us understand how climate science has lost its way and the violent reactions of climatologists to those who question the "consensus".
- GenresScience
106 pages, Paperback
Published March 26, 2018
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34 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Booker
30 books41 followersChristopher John Penrice Booker is an English journalist and author.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 27, 2020
In the 1970s, Irving Janis, a research psychologist at Yale University and a professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, wrote a book entitled Victims of groupthink; a psychological study of foreign-policy decisions and fiascoes . The book used numerous American foreign-policy disasters to illustrate the dangers of groupthink. In the book he also provided examples of successful foreign-policy decisions that came about from utilising diversity of opinion.
The author of this book, Christopher Brooker, had a long career as journalist and author and amongst other things, was one of the founders of Private Eye. In this short book, Christopher Brooker gives an excellent short history of the Man Made Global Warming cult analysed as groupthink.
In simple terms groupthink can be characterised as:
A group of people come to share a particular view or belief without a proper appraisal of the evidence.
This leads them to insist that their belief is shared by a 'consensus' of all right-minded opinion.
Because their belief is ultimately only subjective, resting on shaky foundations, they then defend it only by displaying an irrational, dismissive hostility to anyone daring to question it.
I bought this back in February when I was astonished by the (British) Governments announcement that they will ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars. I read part of it but then I must have been distracted by something. Several bloggers and twitter users I follow have suggested the (British) Government has been making the various bizarre and hugely damaging decisions they have made in response to covid-19 because of groupthink. Perhaps. So I took this book off the shelf and read it in the hope I might gain some insight.
However, what I found most interesting was the history and development of the man made global warming (MMGW) cult.
I think I became a confirmed MMGW skeptic when the climategate email scandal broke. Some bloggers I followed discussed it in detail and I found it all rather shocking. I don't think I contributed anything to these discussions because it wasn't something I knew much about, or up until that point, had much interest in.
No, I am not secretly paid by an oil company. I am a working class bloke who does a working class job. I can see though, that the consequences of the insane policies that the MMGW cult have managed to push through amount to class war - an assault on ordinary peoples living standards and the impoverishment of millions of low income people in the UK.
I live in Stroud, the home of Extinction Rebellion. I didn't grow up in Stroud, I'm originally from Slough, although I've also lived in Twyford, (Berkshire), Reading, Swansea, Cardiff, The Vale of Glamorgan and the British Virgin Islands. I mention these things because I recently read what I considered an excellent article about Stroud and Extinction Rebellion: https://www.rt.com/op-ed/497606-extin...
Changes in climate can more plausibly be explained by sun spot activity. The MMGW narrative is a full of holes and is a dangerous scam. Christopher Booker points out many of these holes in this excellent little book.
The author of this book, Christopher Brooker, had a long career as journalist and author and amongst other things, was one of the founders of Private Eye. In this short book, Christopher Brooker gives an excellent short history of the Man Made Global Warming cult analysed as groupthink.
In simple terms groupthink can be characterised as:
A group of people come to share a particular view or belief without a proper appraisal of the evidence.
This leads them to insist that their belief is shared by a 'consensus' of all right-minded opinion.
Because their belief is ultimately only subjective, resting on shaky foundations, they then defend it only by displaying an irrational, dismissive hostility to anyone daring to question it.
I bought this back in February when I was astonished by the (British) Governments announcement that they will ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars. I read part of it but then I must have been distracted by something. Several bloggers and twitter users I follow have suggested the (British) Government has been making the various bizarre and hugely damaging decisions they have made in response to covid-19 because of groupthink. Perhaps. So I took this book off the shelf and read it in the hope I might gain some insight.
However, what I found most interesting was the history and development of the man made global warming (MMGW) cult.
I think I became a confirmed MMGW skeptic when the climategate email scandal broke. Some bloggers I followed discussed it in detail and I found it all rather shocking. I don't think I contributed anything to these discussions because it wasn't something I knew much about, or up until that point, had much interest in.
No, I am not secretly paid by an oil company. I am a working class bloke who does a working class job. I can see though, that the consequences of the insane policies that the MMGW cult have managed to push through amount to class war - an assault on ordinary peoples living standards and the impoverishment of millions of low income people in the UK.
I live in Stroud, the home of Extinction Rebellion. I didn't grow up in Stroud, I'm originally from Slough, although I've also lived in Twyford, (Berkshire), Reading, Swansea, Cardiff, The Vale of Glamorgan and the British Virgin Islands. I mention these things because I recently read what I considered an excellent article about Stroud and Extinction Rebellion: https://www.rt.com/op-ed/497606-extin...
Changes in climate can more plausibly be explained by sun spot activity. The MMGW narrative is a full of holes and is a dangerous scam. Christopher Booker points out many of these holes in this excellent little book.
August 16, 2019
The best book that I’ve read this year, for several reasons:
Booker is a first class writer, dogged researcher and a very good communicator; combinations that are rare (I cannot yet bring myself to say ‘was’)
Ever since learning about ‘Groupthink’ a few decades ago, in relation to the Bay of Pigs fiasco, it is a subject that has interested me but Booker brings the subject right up to date by using the vehicle of ‘Global Warming’ as the latest worrying usage of this power.
He takes us through the history of Groupthink, based on Irving Janis first use of the term in 1972. Janis was a professor of psychology at Yale University, and introduces us to its three rules.
1. that a group of people come to share a common view or belief that in some way is not properly based on reality.
2. that, precisely because their shared view cannot be subjected to external proof, they then feel the need to reinforce its authority by elevating it into ‘consensus’, a word Janis himself emphasised.
3. that the views of anyone who fails to share it become wholly unacceptable. There cannot possibly be any dialogue with them.. They must be excluded from any further discussion. At best they may just be marginalised and ignored, at worst they must be openly attacked and discredited. Dissent cannot be tolerated.
Booker then takes us through the history of the climate change debate, showing how it falsely focused on just carbon dioxide, then on to how the major bodies, the UN, UK Met Office, and various activist groups became not only involved but manipulated by the ‘Groupthink’ philosophy. Then onto how the data was manipulated and how some at the centre of the debate began to realise that truths were being concealed and tried to speak out.
He finishes by expanding into the wider picture, how ‘Groupthink’ is pervading in many organisations today including “how it has in recent decades transformed the culture of the BBC. Its relentless propagandising over global warming has been only one of the more glaring symptoms of how the corporation’s coverage has become distorted by a similarly one-sided ‘party line’ on almost any controversial issue of the day.”
At only 94 pages long, it is an easy read, but full of facts and historical detail. A must read.
Booker is a first class writer, dogged researcher and a very good communicator; combinations that are rare (I cannot yet bring myself to say ‘was’)
Ever since learning about ‘Groupthink’ a few decades ago, in relation to the Bay of Pigs fiasco, it is a subject that has interested me but Booker brings the subject right up to date by using the vehicle of ‘Global Warming’ as the latest worrying usage of this power.
He takes us through the history of Groupthink, based on Irving Janis first use of the term in 1972. Janis was a professor of psychology at Yale University, and introduces us to its three rules.
1. that a group of people come to share a common view or belief that in some way is not properly based on reality.
2. that, precisely because their shared view cannot be subjected to external proof, they then feel the need to reinforce its authority by elevating it into ‘consensus’, a word Janis himself emphasised.
3. that the views of anyone who fails to share it become wholly unacceptable. There cannot possibly be any dialogue with them.. They must be excluded from any further discussion. At best they may just be marginalised and ignored, at worst they must be openly attacked and discredited. Dissent cannot be tolerated.
Booker then takes us through the history of the climate change debate, showing how it falsely focused on just carbon dioxide, then on to how the major bodies, the UN, UK Met Office, and various activist groups became not only involved but manipulated by the ‘Groupthink’ philosophy. Then onto how the data was manipulated and how some at the centre of the debate began to realise that truths were being concealed and tried to speak out.
He finishes by expanding into the wider picture, how ‘Groupthink’ is pervading in many organisations today including “how it has in recent decades transformed the culture of the BBC. Its relentless propagandising over global warming has been only one of the more glaring symptoms of how the corporation’s coverage has become distorted by a similarly one-sided ‘party line’ on almost any controversial issue of the day.”
At only 94 pages long, it is an easy read, but full of facts and historical detail. A must read.
December 6, 2020
A must-read
All true believers in so-called climate change, global warming or whatever you want to call it, should read this book. Christopher Booker lucidly dismantles and exposes the lies of the so-called "settled science" which has led to insanity and almost criminal distortion of how science should be viewed and practised.
I felt angry that, especially in the UK we have been betrayed by our politicians and institutions such as the publicly funded BBC to accept lies about science which we mostly have to accept on trust. Booker clearly lays out the facts of how, many scientists forgot the scientific method and set out to prove what they wanted to be true things which subsequent events and passage of time have roved to be untrue. An absolute eye-opener backed up by thorough statistical sources which are listed, and a thorough and easily understood analysis. Definitely five stars.
All true believers in so-called climate change, global warming or whatever you want to call it, should read this book. Christopher Booker lucidly dismantles and exposes the lies of the so-called "settled science" which has led to insanity and almost criminal distortion of how science should be viewed and practised.
I felt angry that, especially in the UK we have been betrayed by our politicians and institutions such as the publicly funded BBC to accept lies about science which we mostly have to accept on trust. Booker clearly lays out the facts of how, many scientists forgot the scientific method and set out to prove what they wanted to be true things which subsequent events and passage of time have roved to be untrue. An absolute eye-opener backed up by thorough statistical sources which are listed, and a thorough and easily understood analysis. Definitely five stars.
April 9, 2020
This is a good synopsis of the chronology, significant moments and people involved in the climate hoax as well as an interpretation of it through the rules of 'groupthink'. It could almost be the final chapter of the Madness of Crowds that Douglas Murray didn't write! It's a tragedy that Christopher Booker didn't live long enough to update with the antics of XR and the Greta Thunberg industry. Strongly recommended for those who are agnostic about anthropogenic climate change.
September 12, 2021
Interesting to those wanting to grasp how climate change skeptics try justify their blatant ignorance of fact. I thought it could be useful to delve into the logic of climate deniers, but really found nothing new or of substance.
September 3, 2024
Unbelievable
This book is unbelievable, but that does not mean every word may be true. Christopher Booker makes a very good case for the concept that many of us, if not most us, accept ideas that are fed to us without anywhere near enough scrutiny, including double-checking all the
available facts.
I'm left feeling that I won't live long enough to double-check all the information asserted in this book. So, I'll have to go with my gut instincts that some of his assertions are right on the button and some of them are not.
This book is unbelievable, but that does not mean every word may be true. Christopher Booker makes a very good case for the concept that many of us, if not most us, accept ideas that are fed to us without anywhere near enough scrutiny, including double-checking all the
available facts.
I'm left feeling that I won't live long enough to double-check all the information asserted in this book. So, I'll have to go with my gut instincts that some of his assertions are right on the button and some of them are not.
November 13, 2021
This is a very good case study of how groupthink works out in practice, in this case with regard to what is now known as climate change (as if the climate hasn't changed before!). Though dated, having been written well before COP26, it's nevertheless a book that is well worth reading to explain what has been going on in connection with that issue, and how it's an example of groupthink.
April 14, 2022
Full of fascinating and disturbing nuggets!
A great book for anyone who is not entirely certain about the supposed consensus view on any topic. I am not sure that all Booker's criticisms of the mainstream view of climate change stand up, but I am sure that he is very accurately describing a human trait which everyone needs to understand.
A great book for anyone who is not entirely certain about the supposed consensus view on any topic. I am not sure that all Booker's criticisms of the mainstream view of climate change stand up, but I am sure that he is very accurately describing a human trait which everyone needs to understand.
March 28, 2020
Written by one of the world's great journalist, a dying breed. Well a worth read to rebalance the unending propaganda of the global climate warmers, without CO2 there would be no life on earth, and without more we won't be able to feed the exponential population growth, the real global threat.
April 14, 2024
A very thoughtful book
This is a very well written and thoughtful book. The idea of group think is a powerful way to understand what has happened to climate science and the unfortunate consequences for science itself.
This is a very well written and thoughtful book. The idea of group think is a powerful way to understand what has happened to climate science and the unfortunate consequences for science itself.
April 8, 2021
A great help in clarifying a number of issues in this debate.
May 25, 2025
This book is a well-written and fascinating examination of the climate change consensus phenomenon based on the concept of groupthink.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews