The Dangerous Meritocracy of America’s Rich & Powerful

“Doctors disagree about things all the time. My qualifications in terms of looking at the science is that I’m a social scientist. I have a Ph.D. And I understand how to read statistical studies, whether it’s in medicine, the law, economics or whatever,” Navarro said. — quotes from an Axios report about a meeting of the team advising President Trump on US coronavirus responses.

Dr. (of economics) Peter Navarro was the Assistant to the President, Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy when he made this statement. According to his wikipedia entry, Navarro went to Tufts University, graduating in 1972 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He earned a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1979, and a PhD in Economics from Harvard in 1986.

A guy who has spent his life advocating for economic policies with a focus on China and trade was arguing with Dr. Anthony Fauci about the clinical efficacy of a drug to treat coronavirus. Fauci’s wikipedia resume, by the way, reads like a fairytale you’d create if you wanted to make the ultimate public servant to fight a global pandemic. Purely on the merits of their respective c.v.’s this looks like the equivalent of a talent showdown between the guy who is funny at parties and Tom Hanks.

Why does Navarro think he’s got the chops to engage in this fight? Is it pure unreasoning hubris, or something deeper?