VII. THE "CRISIS" IN GOVERNMENT/SCIENCE RELATIONS, 



1965-1975 



Between 1965 and 1975, protests revolving around the war in 

 Vietnam, civil rights, environmental pollution, and the develop- 

 ment of civilian nuclear power plants sparked a reexamination of 

 conventional policy structures for science and created a demand for 

 expanded scientific advice. There was a general increase in the 

 public scrutiny of science, and scientists were increasingly viewed 

 as an interest group susceptible to the same politics of open debate 

 as everyone else. Skepticism about the claims of science grew, and 

 Congress and the general public began questioning whether Gov- 

 ernment expenditures for research were benefiting the scientists 

 and their institutions more than the public. And the scientific com- 

 munity began to worry that such questioning might well erode 

 their support structure within the American political system. 

 Many leaders within the science policy community thus came to 

 view this as a period of "crisis" for science in the United States. 1 



Scientific research was also competing with new demands for 

 funds. Many of the Great Society programs had begun to pull re- 

 search and development funds away from established civilian and 

 military programs. There was broad public support for the Great 

 Society legislation and, hence, new calls for research to be socially 

 relevant — that is, directed to help solve the nation's most urgent 

 problems. This attitude was especially true for problems that sci- 

 ence and technology were perceived to have created. 



Not only did the various science budgets have to compete with 

 the Great Society programs but escalation of the Vietnam War in 

 1965 also created new budgetary pressures. For the first time since 

 the close of World War II, Federal support for basic research (when 

 adjusted for inflation) actually began to decline in 1967. 2 This de- 

 cline continued until the mid-1970s, when Federal funding levels 

 began rising gradually, reaching the 1967 peak by 1982. Despite the 

 fact that this decline was relatively small, the scientific community 

 issued dire warnings. Harvard professor Harvey Brooks commented 

 that this "decline occurred at a time when the accelerated output 

 of science and engineering Ph.D.s resulting from the big expansion 

 of federal support in the 60s began to be thrown onto the technical 

 labor market. Thus the trauma was considerably greater than it 



1 For a general discussion of the "crisis" in science during this period, see Don K. Price, "Sci- 

 ence at a Policy Crossroads," Technology Review, 73 (April 1971), 30-37; Edward Shils, "Anti- 

 Science: Observations on the Recent 'Crisis' of Science,' in Ciba Foundation, Civilization and 

 Science: In Conflict or Collaboration? (Amsterdam: Associated Scientific Publishers, 1972), pp. 

 33-49; and the special issue of Daedalus, "Science and Its Public: The Changing Relationship," 

 103 (Summer 1974). 



2 See John Walsh, "Science Policy: Budget Cuts Prompt Closer Look at the System,"- Science, 

 168 (May 15, 1970), 802-805. 



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