Thematic
Statement
American
scientists have long been on the
forefront of scientific inquiry and research, greatly improving our
understanding of the natural world, enabling us to live healthier and
safer lives and establishing our economic and technological leadership
around the globe. Yet recent political trends threaten to undermine
science and significantly damage the ability of science to continue
serving our society.
Many in the
scientific community as well as others have expressed
concern over the rapidly shrinking influence of science in setting
public policy. The Union of Concerned Scientist (UCS) issued a call “to
take immediate steps to restore the integrity of science in the federal
policymaking process” in a statement signed by over 7,000 scientists,
including 49 Nobel laureates, 63 National Medal of Science recipients,
and 154 members of the National Academies. In June of 2005 the ACLU
brought attention to the “excessive, unnecessary and ineffective”
restrictions that recent policy changes have placed on scientists.
Similarly, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported a growing sense
that “the [current] administration is politicizing science to an
unprecedented degree” (Sanford Lakoff, 5/6/05). And in September 2005,
Senator McCain and Peter Likins, President of the University of
Arizona, issued a statement concerned with this very same issue. In it
they assert,
The
government
can finance research and use the results to shape public policy;
scientists can discover new truths…. But each must be able to rely on
the other, or the partnership will not work. Scientists must be allowed
to conduct their work unfettered by political or commercial pressures.
(We have only to look at the failures of biological science in the
former Soviet Union to understand the scientific and political cost of
interference.) And the government cannot craft sound policy unless it
can count on scientists to provide accurate data on which to base its
actions….Public-policy makers, including members of Congress, must have
access to reliable data, data untrammeled by political or commercial
interference or censorship. They must have guidance from experts who
understand the complexities of the problem and all of its plausible
solutions.
(Chronicle of Higher Education,
9/2/05)
We believe there
is a clear need to examine the current state of the
relationship between science and the government in order to better
understand the risks incurred by policy decisions that may reflect
political ideologies more than thoughtful consideration of relevant
scientific data. The Social Research
conference on Politics and
Science
will explore the history and current uses of science in setting public
policy, focusing on such key questions as:
- What role
should
science play in setting public policy?
- What does
the
future hold for a society that rejects the results of
scientific inquiry?
- What needs
to be
done now, and by whom or by what institutions, in
order to ensure that good science leads to good public policy that best
serves the needs of the public?
While those
engaged in science are involved in a search for truths
about the physical, biological and social worlds, public policy
decisions are based on many other considerations. Heated public policy
debates between people on opposite ends of the political spectrum have
put scientific findings at odds with religious, corporate, political
and other special interests, and the voice of science is,
unfortunately, often far from the loudest competing to be heard. When
scientists are forced to become advocates, they risk compromising their
unique position as “objective” truth-seekers and thus are more easily
viewed as simply another interest group with no special status or
claim. A growing list of policy decisions, including those concerning
stem cell research, reproductive health issues, the USDA’s new
nutritional recommendations, drug approval policy at the FDA, global
warming, and drilling in the arctic refuge, ignore the best advice of
many in the scientific community while favoring views held by various
special interests even though the issues directly impact the health and
future well-being of us all.
Politics and
Science will bring together representatives from across
the political spectrum to provide a wide range of perspectives on the
relationship between science and public policy. It will examine the
nexus of interests that compete to create government policies, how the
balance of power among them has changed, and the consequences of these
changes. The conference will consider how the voice of science might be
amplified and become a more influential factor in policy decisions.
Princeton
University’s Program in Science, Technology and Environmental
Policy (STEP) is co-sponsoring the conference. This conference is
endorsed by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), the Federation of
American Scientists (FAS) and the New York Academy of Science
(NYAS).
