Science and Social Justice: The Evolution of Scientific American and the Controversial Jedi Critique

The Spring issue of City Journal features an article by James Meigs discussing the increased focus of Scientific American on social justice topics. In recent years, the magazine has published several articles that address scientific issues from a social justice perspective, including “Modern Mathematics Confronts Its White, Patriarchal Past” and “The Racist Roots of Fighting Obesity.” However, in 2021, SciAm published an opinion essay titled “Why the Term ‘JEDI’ Is Problematic for Describing Programs That Promote Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion,” which sparked controversy among readers.

The article critiqued the expansion of the DEI acronym to include “Justice” and argued that the Jedi knights from Star Wars were inappropriate mascots for social justice. The authors claimed that the Jedi knights embodied white saviorism and toxic masculinity through their use of violent duels with phallic light sabers and gaslighting with “Jedi mind tricks.” Many readers found it unclear how these social justice topics were connected to science.

James B. Meigs is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor for City Journal. He also cohosts the How Do We Fix It? podcast and was formerly editor of Popular Mechanics. The content of this article was originally published in The Wall Street Journal (paywall), and it was accompanied by a photo taken by Andrew Brookes/Getty Images.