11 



Not only does our domestic strength rely on a vigorous technological base; our 

 nation's role as a leader in the international scene will increasingly be deter- 

 mined by the accomplishments of our scientists and engineers in this country 

 and by our contributions to the well being of other societies. 



[Science, the report continued] possesses an objectivity which transcends dif- 

 ferences in political and social systems — its language, its methods and its ethics 

 are universal. It can therefore be a powerful tool for building understanding 

 among the peoples of the world and towards achieving eventual world 

 cooperation. 



These two potentials of science, which often lead to conflicting conclusions, are 

 each significant factors in the formulation of policies to guide our international 

 scientific and technological activities. 8 



Two months later, Adlai E. Stevenson, U.S. Representative to the 

 United Nations, in a speech to a scientific group called attention to the 

 lag of policy behind technological advance : 



Scientifically and technically [he said] the world has already become a single 

 community, yet in our ethical response to this fact and in our political institu- 

 tions we, governments and citizens, are lagging dangerously far behind you, the 

 scientists. 



You have given us dangerous powers, but we have not yet learned to control 

 them. You have given us tools to abolish poverty, but we have not yet mastered 

 them. You have given us means to extend the span of human life, but this may 

 prove a curse, not a blessing, unless we can assure food, survival, and then health 

 and a good life for the bodies and minds of our exploding populations. You have 

 made the world small and interdependent, but we have not built the new institu- 

 tions to manage it — nor cast off the old institutions which scientific progress has 

 made obsolete. 



Every great change wrought by science is foreshadowed years ahead in the 

 laboratory and on the drawing board. But it is not until the new device is fully 

 built and functioning, and has astonished the whole world, that we begin to think 

 of its human and political implications. We are forever running today to catch up 

 tomorrow with what you made necessary yesterday. 9 



Subsequently, Jerome B. Wiesner, in his capacity as Director of 

 the Office of Science and Technology, told the Military Operations 

 Subcommittee of the House Committee on Government Operations in 

 1962, the "Swift emergence of science and technology as vital instru- 

 ments of national policy" involved "forces that will determine our 

 future, will shape the balance of power among nations, influence our 

 military security, facilitate our success in achieving foreign policy ob- 

 jectives, provide the vigor for our domestic economy, and guarantee 

 the health of our citizens.*' He went on : 



In an era of explosive growth and international tensions that evoke an unprec- 

 edented demand on our total resources — physical and intellectual — there is need 

 to make most effective use of our total technical resources. 



We are faced with two realities : The increasing role of science and technology 

 in policy decision making, and the increasing federal support for research and 

 development. These two aspects are sometimes contrasted as the role of science in 

 government and the role of government in science. While they are clearly related, 

 it is important to recognize that they often pose quite different problems. 10 



President John F. Kennedy, in a speech to the National Academy of 

 Sciences, October 22, 1963, called "wholehearted understanding today 



8 U.S. Federal Council for Science and Technology. "International Scientific and Tech- 

 nological Activities." A report to the Federal Council for Science and Technology by 

 its International Committee, June 20, 1961. (For Authorized Committee Use, Mimeo, 

 1961, p. 1.) 



9 Adlai E. Stevenson, "Science, Diplomacy, and Peace." Remarks by Adlai E. Stevenson. 

 U.S. Representative to the United Nations. Made before the International Astronomical 

 Union at Berkeley, California, August 15, 1961. Department of State Bulletin (Septem- 

 ber 4. 1961), pp. 402-3. 



10 Jerome B. Wiesner. "The Federal Role in Science and Technology." Bulletin of the 

 Atomic Scientists (November 1962), p. 42. 



