The answer to the question posed by the Headline: They all threaten to empower, in the words of President Dwight Eisenhower, a “scientific-technological elite.” Here’s the quote, via The Volokh Conspiracy blog:
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 scientific-technological elite.
Wisdom! Such hyper politicization of science has marked the embryonic stem cell debates, global warming hysteria, and soon, the obesity wars. Yup. Ike nailed it.
HT: Jody Bottom via Twitter
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