Americans have become resigned to seeing Congress vote money for
porkbarrel projects of all kinds-roads, dams, post offices,
military installations-in the districts of influential legislators.
In recent years Congress has, almost without public notice,
extended this form of vote-buying and pandering into a new domain:
science. Where formerly scientific funding proposals were evaluated
by outside experts on the basis of merit, there is now an
increasing consideration of congressional districts and "fair"
geographical distribution. In this ground-breaking volume, Joseph
P. Martino offers a critical examination of special-interest
funding and the danger it poses to the integrity of American
society as a whole, as well as to its scientific component.
Science Funding is distinguished by its comprehensive approach
to the structural and historical background of the current
situation. It examines the history of science funding from the
early twentieth century through present, public vs. to taxpayers,
instances of fraud, and the effects of government funding for
research in universities.
Martino's survey demonstrates conclusively that government has
been inefficient in its funding capacity and that the shortcomings
are inherent: political criteria for the support of science,
congressional micromanagement, freezing out of innovative ideas,
and the favoring of massive projects-Big Science-over small, but
significant experimental programs. In his concluding chapter
Martino provides an agenda for new thinking on the funding of
science. He proposes alternatives that suggest a plurality of
approaches is preferable to the current monolithic model, and shows
how industrial support, philanthropy, and contributions from the
public can be made more effective. Science Funding is a major work
on the interaction of science, politics, and society. It will be of
interest to sociologists, policymakers, and political scientist,
and the research science community.
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