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valid conclusions is not evenly distributed among scientists. Those best 

 qualified to judge tend to influence others. Yet tliose best qualified to 

 judge can still sometimes err. Scientists do not decide a scientific ques- 

 tion by voting on it; they decide by reaching a consensus. In short, 

 science is no royal road to truth ; it is, however, the only method of 

 opening up, objectively, the secrets of nature. In the same way, the 

 democratic process of political decisiomuaking is imperfect and in- 

 efficient^yet it is the best way we know of allocating costs and values 

 in a society. The difference between these two ways of mobilizing hu- 

 man society is an important one. It needs to be understood if the 

 political world is to draw upon the scientific world for information 

 and guidance. 



II. Fields of Congressioxal Concern in Science Policy Decisions 



The management of the political aspects of technology — or of the 

 technological aspects of national policy — involves successive interac- 

 tions of the technical and political systems. Political decisions iuAolv- 

 ing technology deal with practical and specific issues of science and 

 government that touch on the following 10 fields of concern : 



(1) Political identi-fication of incompatibilities of man ivith Ms 

 environment. — It is hard to find any example of applied science that 

 is not concerned with the goal of improving the compatibility of man 

 with his environment. Incompatibilities are indicated by the evidences 

 of human dissatisfactions and impairments of human well-being. One 

 main response of the political system is to enlist science and technology 

 to effect specific improvements. 



(2) Determination of political goals and their relative priorities, in 

 improvmg the compatihility of mamoith his environment. — ^There are 

 always more needs and opportunities for feasible contributions of 

 science and technology' to the correction of environmental incompati- 

 bilities than society can marshal its resources to exploit. Some incom- 

 patibilities are more salient, severe, injurious, offensive, or unpopular 

 than others. Decisions as to the priorities society will assign to their 

 correction is a foremost task of the political system. These decisions 

 may rank incompatibilities in order of (a) amounts of resources to 

 be assigned to correcting them; {h) technical urgency of their correc- 

 tion, in terms of physical consequences of failure to do so and prospects 

 of physical advantage of doing so; (c) political urgency of their cor- 

 rection, in terms of the publicly perceived and expressed need for 

 corrective action. 



(3) Th^ forecasting of technology. — It is impoi-fant for the politi- 

 cal decisionmaker, as well as for the technological planner, to look 

 ahead — ^to anticipate in various time frames wliat is likely to be tech- 

 nically feasible, what changes are likely in the pattern of technological 

 applications, and what gaps can be foreseen in needed technology for 

 the future. 



(4) E stahlishm.ent of technological goals and priorities. — In view of 

 the fact that political priorities for correcting environmental incom- 

 patibilities are continually undergoing revision in response to the 



