808 



■32- 



to anticipate implications, much less develop clear international policies and 

 conduct negotiations. It is certain to appear prominently on the 

 international agenda in the 1980's. 



C. National Security 



Science and technology have obviously been central factors in the 

 evolution of weapons and military systems in this century, changing 

 drastically not only the nature and scale of hostilities, but the very meaning 

 of strategic war as an option to achieve national objectives. The strength 

 and productivity of a nation's high-technology community have become major 

 elements in any geopolitical calculation. The effects on science and 

 technology themselves, and on universities, of the massive comnitments of 

 resources to security-related R&D have equally changed those enterprises 

 beyond earlier recognition. 



The application of science and technology to security objectives shows no 

 sign of abatement; in fact, a new round of major commitments to large-scale 

 strategic systems is in the offing, turning the ratchet one more notch in a 

 search for security that seems steadily receding into the future. 



In the context of this paper, only a few general issues in this area can 

 be briefly touched upon; clearly it is an enormous subject that is itself the 

 subject of a large 1 iterature.l3 



One central and much-debated concern has to do with whether the constant 

 seeking for more technologically advanced weapons systems in fact contributes 



13a companion paper (Boulding) is devoted to one aspect of the 

 subject. 



