This is also related to Eisenhowers famous military-industrial complex speech. Which was not limited to the possible influence of the military-industrial complex on the government, but also cautioned about the intertwining of science and government interests:Akin to, and largely responsible for the sweeping changes in our industrial-military posture, has been the technological revolution during recent decades. In this revolution, research has become central; it also becomes more formalized, complex, and costly. A steadily increasing share is conducted for, by, or at the direction of, the Federal government.That is a pretty good description of Global Warming science - people who start out wanting to be truth-seekers, and end up being owned by the government.Today, the solitary inventor, tinkering in his shop, has been overshadowed by task forces of scientists in laboratories and testing fields. In the same fashion, the free university, historically the fountainhead of free ideas and scientific discovery, has experienced a revolution in the conduct of research. Partly because of the huge costs involved, a government contract becomes virtually a substitute for intellectual curiosity. For every old blackboard there are now hundreds of new electronic computers. The prospect of domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present and is gravely to be regarded.
Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientifictechnological elite.
Eisenhowers Farewell Address
Thank you for the post and link. Good stuff.
We should all remember Lysenko and Lysenkoism - government promoting a false belief and attacking anyone who would dissent.
“Lysenkoism is used metaphorically to describe the manipulation or distortion of the scientific process as a way to reach a predetermined conclusion as dictated by an ideological bias, often related to social or political objectives.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trofim_Lysenko
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysenkoism