14 

 scientific research which - however neutral - might be viewed as reinforcing 

 the activities of these "factions" is seen to be an act with political sig- 

 nificance. This value has resulted in a polarization among the industrial, 

 political and intellectual segments, militantly enforced by strong devisive 

 codes. One risks his professional career if he brings his scientific compe- 

 tence to bear on activities undertaken by people with whom he does not share 

 complete ideological affinity. Thus the nation is deprived of the scienti- 

 fic monitoring which its technological activities desperately require, theo- 

 reticians and practitioners have none of the sense of community out of which 

 true professionalization emerges, and the gentle but powerful spirit of 

 inquiry is overwhelmed by a spirit of advocacy bordering on emotional chaos. 



Yet there do exist pockets of professionals ready and willing to 

 undertake scientific activity, and with a preference for undertaking it 

 domestically. If these pockets can be identified and reinforced, there is 

 some chance that they might be able to contend with powerful local forces 

 oriented to other ends. As they survive and achieve critical size, the 

 multiplier effect that research always imparts to its setting will make itself 

 felt throughout the researchers' own institutions, out into adjacent circles, 

 and eventually into the national mentality of the nations that house them. 



IV 



What forces in the underdeveloped world are tending toward the 

 generation of critical-size, science-producing entities? And how are they 

 faring? Bringing such entities to maturity in a setting that has been tra- 

 ditionally alien to their purposes is a tricky business. It presupposes the 

 existence of certain elements out of which the new entities will be created. 



