Think-tanks pointless?

Question

Most think-tanks have a bias in them. So wouldn't it be pointless for someone to listen to a biased think-tank? Do you think a think-tank would release a study that would contradict something that they stood for?

Answer 1

Yes they are pointless. Yahoo political answers is a type of think tank and look at how little is accomplished?

Answer 2

Oh they do have a point.  They are bankrolled by businesses that have a vested interest in trying to get favorable legislation passed by Congress.  Let me give you some comedy of errors.  When Reagan took office, there had been talk of doing away with "worthless" bureaucracies, but some cretin opined that those jobs needed to be kept in order to reward hard working conservative think tankers.  (?!)  Then you had the experience of G.W.Bush being very meek after the US spyplane was held in China for a while.  The Heritage Foundation was knocked for being in the pocket of Wall Street and remaining silent so as to not upset business interests.  The Heritage responded with a hissy fit op/ed that never countered the claim.  Finally, when G.W.Bush took office, the nominally libertarian Cato opined that they didn't expect much work from the administration due to the neoconservative cast of the administration.  (Neocons and libertarians dislike each other on foreign policy.)  Think tanks are firmly entrenched and will be in DC forever.  (For the record, I know there are liberal ones, but the Brookings hasn't done much in recent years.)

Answer 3

All studies have bias no matter who does them. The same is true of all researchers.

Answer 4

some have more biases than others, depending on who funds them.  some are pretty objective however.  Rand is but one of them

Answer 5

.1. "Most think-tanks have a bias in them."

True, most people have bias. Humans are not androids. We have biases.

2. "So wouldn't it be pointless for someone to listen to a biased think-tank?"

Not necessarily but one should be skeptical of such studies. Look deeper into the study and see if the people running the study are using the scientific method or are at least going about the study in a logical manner.

3. "Do you think a think-tank would release a study that would contradict something that they stood for?"

Probably not but this in-and-of-itself is not a reason to discount the studies they DO release. Look at the study skeptically (you should do this anyway) but look at how it is performed. Is it performed in a scientific or at least logical manner? That is what is important

Check out the link below. It is to something called the "Baloney Detection Kit" it can help you determine if you should trust a study or not

Answer 6

That's exactly why think-tanks are good; they bring forth the best in themselves and the worst in their "opponents", thus exposing everything if there is think-tanks representing either side. Therefore, one must conclude, you cannot trust one think-tank completely - you need to listen to the other side, too.

"Love your enemies, for they tell you your faults."

- Benjamin Franklin.

Answer 7

They are not pointless. They are PR firms that tell nitwits what to think (sort of like churches without the mystical mumbo-jumbo).