A Pox on Fools

Scientific truth, and the vast benefits of modern medicine, are under sustained attack from conspiracy theorists. Not since the nineteenth century has there been such a relentless assault on tried and tested science. In this urgent history of anti-vaccine arguments, Thomas Levenson traces the alarming rhetoric of figures such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Ron DeSantis back to its roots, examining how their very same talking points have been regurgitated since the early eighteenth century. But what once started as justifiable skepticism of an emerging science is now completely divorced from reality. As Levenson demonstrates, vaccines themselves have transformed beyond recognition, but anti-vaccine rants echo the same meaningless tropes long after they have become obsolete. This history is vital for our understanding of the political and cultural landscape as it mutates into ever-more terrifying forms. With wit and acerbity, Levenson offers a thorough dissection of anti-vaccine arguments and sets out undeniable evidence for the necessity of inoculation. Levenson warns, above all, of the dangers of proliferation – of anti-vaccine misinformation, and relatedly, of deadly disease and suffering. It is only in understanding these fools that we can begin to stop them.

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