Republished 6/4/2012
AMERICAN THINKER, 12/7/2009 by Robert W. Ball - President
Dwight D. Eisenhower's famous 1961 farewell address contained more than
an admonition about the danger of an expanding "military-industrial
complex." That speech was also an early warning of the current unholy
alliance between the government and a scientific community dependent on
the government for its funding.
- "...(In)
the technological revolution during recent decades...research has
become central...complex, and costly. A steadily increasing share is
conducted for, by, or at the direction of, the Federal government...the
solitary inventor... has been overshadowed by task forces of scientists
in laboratories and testing fields...
...the free university, historically the fountainhead of free ideas and scientific discovery, has experienced a revolution in the conduct of research. Partly because of the huge costs involved, a government contract becomes virtually a substitute for intellectual curiosity.
The prospect of domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present and is gravely to be regarded....we must...be alert to the...danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific technological elite." [ii]
0 comments:
Post a Comment