Science and Engineering in Politics
Posted on December 3, 2007 Comments (4)
Politics of engineering by Patrick Mannion, EE Times:
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Then came word of the $25 billion being handed to farmers in yet another subsidy, loudly denounced by some as welfare for the wealthy. I’m not going to get into the right or wrong of the subsidies–but I am amazed at the ability of agribusiness to get them at all. It shows the power of the farm lobby. Ditto for pharmaceuticals, HMOs, lawyers, “big oil” and so on. It underscores the relative political weakness of the engineering community.
If the science and engineering community are not well represented to our representatives the interests of the science and engineering community will get short changed. Especially since so few politicians in the USA have even a basic understanding of science and the scientific method. And a very small percentage have any advanced degrees in science and engineering fields or work experience in them. That being said the political arena is much like a tar pit: that is it is difficult to interact with without becoming entangled in a big mess. And it is not as though the scientific and engineering community are even close to unified but still the impact of political decisions is very significant and science and engineering leaders need to be heard.
China’s Economic Science Experiment – China’s 9 most senior government official are all engineers (in 2006 – I am not sure now):
Related: Larry Page on Marketing Science – The A to Z Guide to Political Interference in Science – Diplomacy and Science Research – Open Access Legislation – Proposal to Triple NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Awards – Science Interview with John Edwards – Proposed Legislation on Science and Education – House Testimony on Engineering Education – Germany’s Science Chancellor – Nanotechnology Investment as Strategic National Economic Policy – Singapore Supporting Science Researchers – Farming Without Subsidies in New Zealand
Categories: Economics, Engineering, quote, Science, Students
Tags: economy, government, politics, scientific literacy
4 Responses to “Science and Engineering in Politics”
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January 2nd, 2008 @ 7:49 pm
at least raising two issues I have been raising a bit more lately: science funding (our newest category) and politics and science…
February 11th, 2008 @ 9:57 am
If the science and engineering community are not well represented to our representatives the interests of the science and engineering community will not get the sensible level of investment…
June 6th, 2008 @ 7:01 pm
“Needham never fully worked out why China’s inventiveness dried up. Other academics have made their own suggestions: the stultifying pursuit of bureaucratic rank in the Middle Kingdom…”
April 28th, 2009 @ 8:28 am
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