Lancet editor-in-chief calls for ‘activist’ journals

"Changing direction of society" seems like a different goal than actively seeking articles. Organic activism is one thing, but activism purposefully poured into academia threatens to strip away the integrity of academic research by politicizing it and steeping it in agenda. Agenda removes the openness required to maintain the integrity of the academic research endeavor. Precarious ground. I hope this will never be the expectation or standard.

The SDGs represent a complex and sophisticated scientific agenda for peace and security, which is being ignored and rejected, or implemented in name only in practice- much like with climate change. Yet, it is the most sophisticated agenda we've seen in history. We now have a network of corrupt and conservative politicians in charge across the world, as well as in the US and UK, who are encouraging populations to ignore uncomfortable truths and are keeping their corrupt, rent-seeking politics going by pandering to their worst inclinations (racism, sexism, nationalism, supporting economic inequality, over-consumption, anthropocentrism- a long list of ills). It's convenient to claim that universities are in the hands of lefty types, indoctrinating the young with pseudo-science (see above). Systems for political cooperations are fragmenting, conventions and treaties are being ignored, etc etc. Journals can do their small bit, and many are doing so (though not necessarily the mainstream gate-keeping journals) but this is a problem with national and international political systems, with checks and balance, as well as law and norms being ignored; the science is not the problem. We've all been here before I'm afraid. At least academic knowledge, policy frameworks like the SDGs, on climate change can hope to maintain a level of integrity throughout all of this. However, it's not much good shifting knowledge into impact frameworks if states and international actors cannot actually implement them because of some leaders' and some people's ignorance and selfishness- and the ease with which such reactionary forces can now hijack democracy and block international cooperation.