IDEOLOGY AND ELITES PERCEPTIONS OF THE SAFETY OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES

Theory: The policy learning and advocacy coalition framework emphasize s the importance of journalists and scientists, as well as policymaker s, in models of the policy process. At the same time, research from se veral traditions suggests that elite opinion concerning the safety of nuclear energy, genetic engineering, and other new technologies derive s primarily from political ideology. We examine the attitudes of three elite groups that influence policy governing new technologies. Hypoth eses: Rothman and Lichter's provocative liberal bias theory suggests t hat environmental and technological issues are not, as they appear, te chnical policy issues, but proxies for older conflicts between left eg alitarians and the corporate ''establishment.'' They expect journalist s to be most skeptical of technological safety claims because they are especially liberal and, in contrast, scientists to be free of ideolog ical bias. Alternatively, differences among elite groups could be due to more proximate beliefs, socialization or self-selection. Methods: A telephone survey of random samples of scientists, journalists, and fe deral government policymakers provides data on attitudes towards new t echnologies, political ideology, and other characteristics. Ordinary l east squares is used to estimate models. Results: Members of all three elite groups are subject to ideological bias in their assessments of technological safety. Yet, the small effect of profession remains afte r controlling for a variety of variables.