Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T20:46:59.063Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The political implications of epigenetics

Emerging narratives and ideologies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 November 2016

Shea K. Robison
Shea K. Robison*
Affiliation:
Center for East Asian and Comparative Philosophy, City University of Hong Kong
*
Correspondence: Shea K. Robison, Center for East Asian and Comparative Philosophy, Department of Public Policy, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong. Email: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

Background. Epigenetics, which is just beginning to attract public attention and policy discussion, challenges conventional understanding of gene-environment interaction and intergenerational inheritance and perhaps much more besides.

Question. Does epigenetics challenge modern political ideologies?

Methods. I analyzed the narratives of obesity and epigenetics recently published in the more liberal New York Times and the more conservative Wall Street Journal. For the years 2010 through 2014, 50 articles on obesity and 29 articles on epigenetics were identified, and elements in their causal narratives were quantitatively analyzed using a well described narrative policy framework.

Findings. The narratives on obesity aligned with the two newspapers’ reputed ideologies. However, the narratives on epigenetics aligned with neither ideology but freely mixed liberal and conservative elements.

Discussion. This small study may serve as a starting point for broader studies of epigenetics as it comes to affect political ideologies and, in turn, public policies. The narrative mix reported here could yet prove vulnerable to ideological capture, or, more optimistically, could portend the emergence of a “third-way” narrative using epigenetics to question atomistic individualism and allowing for less divisiveness in public-health domains such as obesity.

Keywords

Epigeneticsideologypolicy narrativenarrative analysisobesity
Type
Articles
Information
Politics and the Life Sciences , Volume 35 , Issue 2 , Fall 2016 , pp. 30 - 53
Copyright
© Association for Politics and the Life Sciences 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Goldberg, A. D., Allis, C. D., and Bernstein, E., “Epigenetics: A landscape takes shape,” Cell , 2007, 128(4): 635–638.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Xia, J., Han, L., and Zhao, Z., “Investigating the relationship of DNA methylation with mutation rate and allele frequency in the human genome,” BMC Genomics , 2012, 13(Suppl 8): S7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bernal, A. J. and Jirtle, Randy, “Epigenomic disruption: The effects of early developmental exposures,” Birth Defects Research Part A: Clinical and Molecular Teratology , 2010, 88(10): 938–944.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dolinoy, Dana, “The agouti mouse model: An epigenetic biosensor for nutritional and environmental alterations on the fetal epigenome,” Nutrition Reviews , 2008, 66(Suppl 1): S7–S11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, G. G., David Allis, C., and Ping, C., “Chromatin remodeling and cancer, Part I: Covalent histone modifications,” Trends in Molecular Medicine , 2007, 13(9): 363–372.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crick, Francis, “Central dogma of molecular biology,” Nature , 1970, 227(5258): 561–563.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Casci, T., “RNA-mediated inheritance spotted in mice,” Nature Reviews Genetics , 2006, 7(7): 492–493, doi:10.1038/nrg1902.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Houseley, J. and Tollervey, D., “The many pathways of RNA degradation,” Cell , 2009, 136(4): 763–776.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fire, A., Xu, S., Montgomery, M. K., Kostas, S. A., Driver, S. E., and Mello, C. C., “Potent and specific genetic interference by double-stranded RNA in Caenorhabditis elegans,” Nature , 1998, 391(6669): 806–811.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fu, Y., Dominissini, D., Rechavi, G., and He, C., “Gene expression regulation mediated through reversible m6A RNA methylation,” Nature Reviews Genetics , 2014, 15(5): 293–306.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Palmero, E., de Campos, S. G. P, Campos, M., Souza, N. C., Guerreiro, I. D. C., Carvalho, A. L., and Marques, M. M. C., “Mechanisms and role of microRNA deregulation in cancer onset and progression,” Genetics and Molecular Biology , 2011, 34(3): 363–370.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Daxinger, L. and Whitelaw, E., “Understanding transgenerational epigenetic inheritance via the gametes in mammals,” Nature Reviews Genetics , 2012, 13(3): 153–162.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Manikkam, M., Haque, M. M., Guerrero-Bosagna, C., Nilsson, E. E., and Skinner, M. K., “Pesticide methoxychlor promotes the epigenetic transgenerational inheritance of adult-onset disease through the female germline,” PloS One , 2014, 9(7): e102091.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yuan, S., Oliver, D., Schuster, A., Zheng, H., and Yan, W., “Breeding scheme and maternal small RNAs affect the efficiency of transgenerational inheritance of a paramutation in mice,” Scientific Reports , 2015, 5(9266), doi:10.1038/srep09266.Google ScholarPubMed
Kaati, G., Bygren, L. O., and Edvinsson, S., “Cardiovascular and diabetes mortality determined by nutrition during parents’ and grandparents’ slow growth period,” European Journal of Human Genetics , 2002, 10(11): 682–688.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Northstone, K., Golding, J., Smith, G. D., Miller, L., and Pembrey, M., “Prepubertal start of father’s smoking and increased body fat in his sons: Further characterisation of paternal transgenerational responses,” European Journal of Human Genetics , 2014, 22(12): 1382–1386.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pembrey, M., Bygren, L. O., Kaati, G., Edvinsson, S., Northstone, K., Sjostrom, M., and Golding, J., “Sex-specific, male-line transgenerational responses in humans,” European Journal of Human Genetics , 2006, 14: 159–166.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rooij, W. H. Sr., Yonker, J. E., Painter, R. C., and Roseboom, T. J., “Prenatal undernutrition and cognitive function in late adulthood,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA , 2010, 107: 16881–16886.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roseboom, T., de Rooij, S., and Painter, R., “The Dutch famine and its long-term consequences for adult health,” Early Human Development , 2006, 82: 485–491.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schulz, L. C., “The Dutch Hunger Winter and the developmental origins of health and disease,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA , 2010, 107: 16757–16758.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heijmans, B. T., Tobi, E. W., Stein, A. D., Putter, H., Blauw, G. J., Susser, E. S., Slagboom, P. E., and Lumey, L. H., “Persistent epigenetic differences associated with prenatal exposure to famine in humans,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , 2008, 105(44): 17046–17049.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tobi, E. W., Slagboom, P. E., Van Dongen, J., Kremer, D., Stein, A. D., Putter, H., Heijmans, B. T., and Lumey, L. H., “Prenatal famine and genetic variation are independently and additively associated with DNA methylation at regulatory loci within IGF2/H19,” PLoS One , 2012, 7(5): e37933.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stone, Deborah, Policy Paradox: The Art of Political Decision Making, 3rd ed. (New York: W.W. Norton, 2002).Google Scholar
Watters, Ethan, “DNA is not destiny: The new science of epigenetics,” Discovery, November 2006, http://discovermagazine.com/2006/nov/cover, accessed October 6, 2016.Google Scholar
Cloud, John, “Why your DNA isn’t your destiny,” Time Magazine, January 6, 2010, http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1952313,00.html, accessed October 6, 2016.Google Scholar
Jones, Michael and McBeth, Mark K., “A narrative policy framework: Clear enough to be wrong? ” Policy Studies Journal , 2010, 38(2): 329–353.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McBeth, Mark K., Shanahan, Elizabeth, Arnell, Ruth J., and Hathaway, Paul, “The intersection of narrative policy analysis and policy change theory,” Policy Studies Journal , 2007, 35(1): 87–108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shanahan, Elizabeth, McBeth, Mark, and Hathaway, Paul, “Narrative policy framework: The influence of media policy narratives on public opinion,” Politics and Policy , 2011, 39(3): 373–400.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McBeth, Mark K., “Preface: The Portneuf school of narrative,” in The Science of Stories: Applications of the Narrative Policy Framework in Public Policy Analysis, Jones, Michael D., Shanahan, Elizabeth A., and McBeth, Mark K., eds. (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014).Google Scholar
Denzau, A. D. and North, D. C., “Shared mental models: ideologies and institutions,” in Elements of Reason: Cognition, Choice, and the Bounds of Rationality, Lupia, A., McCubbins, M.C., and Popkin, S.L., eds. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994/2000), pp. 23–46.Google Scholar
Amodio, D. M., Jost, J. T., Master, S. L., and Yee, C. M., “Neurocognitive correlates of liberalism and conservatism,” Nature Neuroscience , 2007, 10(10): 1246–1247.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hibbing, J. R., Smith, K. B., and Alford, J. R., “Differences in negativity bias underlie variations in political ideology,” Behavioral and Brain Sciences , 2014, 37(3): 297–307.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wendell, Dane, Matland, Richard, and Morrison, Robert, “Neural correlates of political ideology and inhibition,” paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association (New Orleans, LA, September 6, 2012), http://ssrn.com/abstract=2105164.Google Scholar
Carsey, T. M. and Layman, G. C., “Changing sides or changing minds? Party identification and policy preferences in the American electorate,” American Journal of Political Science , 2006, 50(2): 464–477.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Erikson, R. S. and Tedin, Kent, American Public Opinion, 9th ed. (New York: Routledge, 2015), pp. 81–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conover, Pamela and Feldman, Stanley, “The origins and meaning of liberal/conservative self-identifications,” American Journal of Political Science , 1981, 25(4): 617–645.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huntington, S. P., “Conservatism as an ideology,” American Political Science Review , 1957, 51(2): 454–473.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Box-Steffensmeier, Janet and De Boef, Stephanie, “Partisanship and ideology: A subgroup analysis over time,” paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association (San Francisco, CA, September 1996).Google Scholar
Jost, J. T., Napier, J. L., Thorisdottir, H., Gosling, S. D., Palfai, T. P., and Ostafin, B., “Are needs to manage uncertainty and threat associated with political conservatism or ideological extremity? ” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin , 2007, 33(7): 989–1007.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stroebe, K., Postmes, T., Täuber, S., Stegeman, A., and John, M. S., “Belief in a just what? Demystifying just world beliefs by distinguishing sources of justice,” PloS One , 2015, 10(3): e0120145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Inbar, Y., Pizarro, D., Iyer, R., and Haidt, J., “Disgust sensitivity, political conservatism, and voting,” Social Psychological and Personality Science , 2012, 3(5): 537–544.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, K. B., Oxley, D., Hibbing, M. V., Alford, J. R., and Hibbing, J. R., “Disgust sensitivity and the neurophysiology of left-right political orientations,” PloS One , 2011, 6(10): e25552.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bobbio, A., Canova, L., and Manganelli, A. M., “Conservative ideology, economic conservatism, and causal attributions for poverty and wealth,” Current Psychology , 2010, 29(3): 222–234.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sweetser, K. D., “Partisan personality: The psychological differences between Democrats and Republicans, and independents somewhere in between,” American Behavioral Scientist , 2013, 58(9): 1183–1194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mullins, W. A., “On the concept of ideology in political science,” American Political Science Review , 1972, 66(2): 498–510.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Freeden, M., Sergeant, L., and Stears, M., The Oxford Handbook of Political Ideologies (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jost, J. T., Federico, C., and Napier, J. L., “Political ideology: Its structure, functions, and elective affinities,” Annual Review of Psychology , 2009, 60: 307–337.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wood, Gordon, The Radicalism of the American Revolution (New York: Vintage, 1993), p. 97.Google Scholar
Wood, pp. 175–176.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cozzarelli, C., Wilkinson, A. V., and Tagler, M. J., “Attitudes toward the poor and attributions for poverty,” Journal of Social Issues , 2001, 57(2): 207–227.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kluegel, J. R. and Smith, E. R., Beliefs about Inequality: Americans’ Views of What Is and What Ought to Be (New York, NY: Aldine de Gruyter, 1986).Google Scholar
Skitka, L. J., Mullen, E., Griffin, T., Hutchinson, S., and Chamberlin, B., “Dispositions, scripts, or motivated correction? Understanding ideological differences in explanations for social problems,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 2002, 83(2): 470–487.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sniderman, P. M., Hagen, M. G., Tetlock, P. E., and Brady, H. E., “Reasoning chains: Causal models of policy reasoning in mass publics,” British Journal of Political Science , 1986, 16: 405–430.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barry, C. L., Brescoll, V. L., Brownell, K. D., and Schlesinger, M., “Obesity metaphors: How beliefs about the causes of obesity affect support for public policy,” Millbank Quarterly , 2009, 87(1): 7–47.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kim, S. H. and Willis, L. A., “Talking about obesity: News framing of who is responsible for causing and fixing the problem,” Journal of Health Communication , 2007, 12(4): 359–376.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McKay, B., “What role should government play in combatting obesity?” Wall Street Journal, September 18, 2012, http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10000872396390444812704577609482961870876, accessed April 12, 2015.Google Scholar
Oliver, J. E. and Lee, T., “Public opinion and the politics of obesity in America,” Journal of Health Politics, Policy, and Law , 2005, 30(5): 923–954.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Robert, S. A. and Booske, B. C., “US opinions on health determinants and social policy as health policy,” American Journal of Public Health , 2011, 101(9): 1655–1663.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lusk, J. L. and Ellison, B., “Who is to blame for the rise in obesity? ” Appetite , 2013, 68: 14–20.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clemons, Randy, McBeth, Mark, and Kusko, Elizabeth, “Understanding the role of policy narratives and the public policy arena: Obesity as a lesson in public policy development,” World Medical and Health Policy , 2012, 4(2): 1–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chriqui, J. F., “Obesity prevention policies in US states and localities: Lessons from the field,” Current Obesity Reports , 2013, 2(3): 200–210.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Novak, N. L. and Brownell, K. D., “Role of policy and government in the obesity epidemic,” Circulation , 2012, 126(19): 2345–2352.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kersh, R., “The politics of obesity: A current assessment and look ahead,” Millbank Quarterly , 2009, 87(1): 295–316.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McBeth, Mark, Clemons, Randy, Husmann, Maria, Kusko, Elizabeth, and Gaarden, A., “The social construction of a crisis: Policy narratives and contemporary US obesity policy,” Risk, Hazards, and Crisis in Public Policy , 2013, 4(3): 135–163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Niederdeppe, J., Robert, S. A., and Kindig, D. A., “Qualitative research about attributions, narratives, and support for obesity policy 2008,” Preventing Chronic Disease , 2011, 8(2): A39.Google ScholarPubMed
Singer, Natasha, “Fixing a world that fosters fat,” New York Times, August 21, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/business/22stream.html?module=SearchandmabReward=relbias%3Ar, accessed April 12, 2015.Google Scholar
Gollust, S., Lantz, P., and Ubel, P., “The polarizing effect of news media messages about the social determinants of health,” American Journal of Public Health , 2009, 99(12): 2160–2167.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Suhay, E. and Jayaratne, T. E., “Does biology justify ideology? The politics of genetic attribution,” Public Opinion Quarterly , 2013, 77(2): 497–521.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Alliance for Audited Media, “Research and Data,” 2015, http://www.auditedmedia.com/news/research-and-data/top-25-us-newspapers-for-march-2013.aspx, accessed April 6, 2015.Google Scholar
Lawrence, Regina, “Framing obesity: The evolution of news discourse on a public health issue,” Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics , 2004, 9(3): 56–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gentzkow, M. and Shapiro, J. M., “What drives media slant? Evidence from US daily newspapers,” Econometrica , 2010, 78(1): 35–71.Google Scholar
Brambor, T., Clark, W. R., and Golder, M., “Understanding interaction models: Improving empirical analyses,” Political Analysis , 2006, 14(1): 63–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ridley, Matthew, “No, your child won’t inherit your acquired traits,” Wall Street Journal, October 12, 2012,http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10000872396390443294904578048381149899900?KEYWORDS=epigeneticandmg=reno64-wsj, accessed June 14, 2014.Google Scholar
Ridley, Matthew, “How Dickensian childhoods leave genetic scars,” Wall Street Journal, May 11, 2012,http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304363104577390462225369908?KEYWORDS=epigeneticandmg=reno64-wsj, accessed June 14, 2014.Google Scholar
Orren, K. and Skowronek, S., The Search for American Political Development (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, C. A., “Policy regimes and policy change,” Journal of Public Policy , 2000, 20(3): 247–274.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McFarland, A. S., “Neopluralism,” Annual Review of Political Science , 2007, 10(1): 45–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Banchoff, W., “Path dependence and value-driven issues: The comparative politics of stem-cell research,” World Politics , 2005, 57(1): 200–230.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gonzalez, G. A., Corporate Power and the Environment (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2001).Google Scholar
Kersh, R., The Politics of Medical Malpractice in Pennsylvania, 1975–2005 (Philadelphia, PA: Pew Charitable Trusts, 2005).Google Scholar
Baumgartner, F. R. and Jones, B. D., Agendas and Instability in American Politics (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2010).Google Scholar
Baumgartner, F. R., Jones, B. D., and Mortensen, P. B., “Punctuated equilibrium theory: Explaining stability and change in public policymaking,” in Theories of the Policy Process, 3rd ed., Sabatier, Paul A. and Weible, Christopher M, eds. (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2014), pp. 59–103.Google Scholar
Jones, B. D. and Baumgartner, F. R., The Politics of Attention: How Government Prioritizes Problems (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2005).Google Scholar
Ivanhoe, Philip J., Confucian Reflections: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times (New York: Routledge, 2013).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ivanhoe, Philip J., “Senses and values of oneness,” in The Philosophical Challenge from China, Bruya, B., ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2015).Google Scholar
Robison, Shea K., “Epigenetics East and West? Potential public policy implications,” Asian Politics and Policy , submitted manuscript.Google Scholar
Wong, David, “Three kinds of incommensurability,” in Relativism: Interpretation and Confrontation, Krausz, Michael, ed. (Notre Dame, IN: Notre Dame University Press, 1989), pp. 140–159.Google Scholar
Rosemont, Henry Jr., Against Individualism: A Confucian Rethinking of the Foundations of Morality, Politics, Family, and Religion (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2015).Google Scholar
Ivanhoe, Philip J., Flanagan, Owen, Harrison, Victoria, Schwitzgebel, Eric, and Sarkissian, Hagop, eds., Oneness in Philosophy, Psychology, and Religion: Is Everything Connected? (New York: Columbia University Press, on press).Google Scholar
Kim, Sungmoon, Confucian Democracy in East Asia: Theory and Practice (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Balibar, Etienne, Spinoza and Politics (London: Verso, 1998).Google Scholar
Campos, Albert, Spinoza’s Revolutions in Natural Law (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kisner, Matthew, Spinoza on Human Freedom: Reason, Autonomy and the Good Life (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2011).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robison, Shea K., “Spinoza’s bridge: Epigenetics, East Asian philosophy, and the immanent self,” paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Pacific Northwest Political Association (Portland, OR, November 11, 2016), https://www.academia.edu/28999545/Spinoza_s_Bridge_Epigenetics_East_Asian_Philosophy_and_the_Immanent_Self.Google Scholar
Robison, Shea K., “Epigenetics, the international environment, and Spinoza: Multi-level challenges to modern liberalism,” paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Pacific Northwest Political Association (Portland, OR, November 10, 2016), https://www.academia.edu/28999583/Epigenetics_the_International_Environment_and_Spinoza_Multi-level_Challenges_to_Modern_Liberalism.Google Scholar