The Subversion of Referees

Michael Lewis, the author of Moneyball, The Blind Side, and The Big Short, has an uncanny knack for tapping into themes developing in the zeitgeist. His recent podcast, "Against the Rules," examines a trend he's observed in society - the decline of the human referee in many parts of daily life, and what that's doing to our idea of fairness. Disrespect of referees strikes me as profound and highly relevant to publishing, especially scholarly and scientific publishing. Gatekeepers, referees, and the consequences of these have been targeted for years as irrelevant, outmoded, or objectionable. Lewis' podcast explores other topics - the abdication of regulations around financial institutions that exploit lenders and dodge responsibility for the messes they make, causing financial hardships for students, teachers, and soldiers; the growing disrespect for editors and grammar; and, why ethicists and ombudsmen are losing leverage.