A U.K. View on the U.S. Attack on Social Sciences

摘要

Social science is under attack in the United States. The National Science Foundation (NSF) is prohibited from funding political science, except for grants identified by its director as "promoting national security or the economic interests of the United States." The High Quality Research Act is being drafted with the aim of guarding against "questionable projects" at NSF. A bill was proposed that would exclude health economics research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Such developments provide cause for concern. First, this represents political interference in the delivery of science. It is unreasonable for scientists to be oblivious to the political reality of budget constraints and responsibility to the taxpayer, particularly in periods of austerity. However, there are good reasons why, in most of the world, decisions about science funding are left to the experts.