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Books > Science & Mathematics > Science: general issues > Science funding & policy
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A Fragile Power - Scientists and the State (Hardcover)
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A Fragile Power - Scientists and the State (Hardcover)
Series: Princeton Legacy Library
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When the National Science Foundation funds research about the
earth's crust and the Department of Energy supports studies on the
disposal of nuclear wastes, what do they expect for their money?
Most scientists believe that in such cases the government wants
information for immediate use or directions for seeking future
benefits from nature. Challenging this oversimplified view, Chandra
Mukerji depicts a more complex interdependence between science and
the state. She uses vivid examples from the heavily funded field of
oceanography, particularly from recent work on seafloor hot springs
and on ocean disposal of nuclear wastes, to raise questions about
science as it is practiced and financed today. She finds that
scientists act less as purveyors of knowledge to the government
than as an elite and highly skilled talent pool retained to give
legitimacy to U.S. policies and programs: scientists allow their
authority to be projected onto government officials who use
scientific ideas for political purposes. Writing in a crisp and
jargon-free style, Mukerji reveals the peculiar mix of autonomy and
dependency defined for researchers after World War II--a mix that
has changed since then but that continues to shape the practical
conduct of science. Scientists use their control over the
scientific content of research to convince themselves of their
autonomy and to achieve some power in their dealings with funding
agencies, but they remain fundamentally dependent on the state.
Mukerji argues that they constitute a kind of reserve force, like
the Army or Navy reserves, paid by the government to do research
only because science is politically essential to the workings of
the modern state. This book is essential reading not only for
sociologists and students of science and society, and for
oceanographers, but also for every scientist whose work depends
directly or indirectly on government support. Originally published
in 1990. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest
print-on-demand technology to again make available previously
out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton
University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of
these important books while presenting them in durable paperback
and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is
to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in
the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press
since its founding in 1905.
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