Demarcation Domination
The power to draw and enforce boundaries between “science” and “non‑science,” “knowledge” and “belief,” “rational” and “irrational.” Those who control the demarcation criteria control which fields receive funding, which voices are heard in public debate, and which worldviews are pathologised. Demarcation domination is often wielded by institutional science against alternative medicine, indigenous knowledge, or critical social science. It is a form of epistemic gatekeeping that preserves the authority of dominant paradigms.
Example: “The funding agency refused to consider research on traditional healing because it fell outside their demarcation of ‘biomedical science.’ Demarcation domination: cutting off whole domains of inquiry.”
Science Domination
The broad exercise of power through science as a social institution: its authority to define truth, its influence on policy, its control over funding and publication, and its ability to marginalise non‑scientific ways of knowing. Science domination is not conspiracy but structure: scientific experts hold privileged positions in government, media, and education, and their claims are rarely questioned by the public. This domination can be benign (e.g., public health) but also oppressive (e.g., eugenics, race science). Understanding science domination is crucial for democratic oversight.
Example: “Economists, not citizens, set the parameters of national budgets. Science domination: expert authority replacing democratic deliberation.”
Science Domination
The broad exercise of power through science as a social institution: its authority to define truth, its influence on policy, its control over funding and publication, and its ability to marginalise non‑scientific ways of knowing. Science domination is not conspiracy but structure: scientific experts hold privileged positions in government, media, and education, and their claims are rarely questioned by the public. This domination can be benign (e.g., public health) but also oppressive (e.g., eugenics, race science). Understanding science domination is crucial for democratic oversight.
Example: “Economists, not citizens, set the parameters of national budgets. Science domination: expert authority replacing democratic deliberation.”
Demarcation Domination by Abzugal May 22, 2026
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