How Science Is Now Tackling Social Justice: A Critique of ‘JEDI’ as a Mascot for Equality

In the latest issue of City Journal, James Meigs discusses how Scientific American has shifted its focus towards social justice topics. The magazine has been publishing articles that are related to scientific issues but also touch on social justice themes, such as “Modern Mathematics Confronts Its White, Patriarchal Past” and “The Racist Roots of Fighting Obesity.”

One of the most recent examples of this is an opinion essay titled “Why the Term ‘JEDI’ Is Problematic for Describing Programs That Promote Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion,” which was published in 2021. The article critiques the expansion of the DEI acronym to include “Justice” and argues that the Jedi knights from Star Wars are not an appropriate mascot for social justice movements.

The authors argue that the Jedi knights were prone to white saviorism and toxic masculinity approaches to conflict resolution, using violent duels with phallic light sabers and gaslighting with “Jedi mind tricks.” The connection between these social justice topics and science was unclear to many readers.

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