Why the current decline of science in America can be a golden opportunity for science to reinvent itself

Why the current decline of science in America can be a golden opportunity for science to reinvent itself

Sujay Rao Mandavilli

 

Let us begin this post by tracing the history of science and technology in the United States in brief. Both science and technology in the United States have had a long and an impressive history, and have created a great deal of intrinsic value that has greatly impacted the whole world, and changed it fundamentally for the better. The United States of America began its existence during the Age of Enlightenment in the Seventeenth century, which was an important era in Western philosophy during which writers and thinkers, rejecting the religious-derived traditions of the past, instead chose to emphasize societies intellectual, scientific and technological underpinnings. Therefore, the United States was founded on the basis of modern and revolutionary values and principles from the very start. Enlightenment philosophers such as Isaac Newton and John Locke therefore envisioned a "republic of science," where ideas could be exchanged freely and useful and practical knowledge would greatly improve the well-being of all denizens without bias or prejudice. Scientific values were therefore enshrined in the American constitution itself. The United States Constitution promotes the need to encourage scientific creativity, and foster new discoveries. It gives the United States Congress the power "to promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries." Benjamin Franklin, who was one of the founding fathers of the United States, was a scientist himself, and his personal accomplishments are indeed impressive.

American science, which was originally rooted in Enlightenment ideals and Western scientific traditions, gained significant traction and momentum in the late nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries with organizations such as the National Academy of Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science promoting the advocacy of science, along with high levels of government and corporate spending and investment. Universities such as Harvard University and the Yale University were founded fairly early in American history. After the Second World War, there was an impressive surge in public interest and government funding for "big science," driven by collaboration between researchers, governments, and institutions, also driving impressive advancements in areas such as space exploration, nuclear energy, and even biology. American scientists led the world in every conceivable way, and American scientists continue to take home the maximum number of Nobel prizes in the world. While American science continues to evolve to this day, making giant strides, it often grapples with issues of funding, intellectual property rights, political dogma and ideology to name a few. It has also declined in relative terms compared to the impressive progress that has been made by China and other nations in the recent past, though it has still managed to hold some ground.

 

The success of American science therefore stems from sustained federal investment in fundamental research, which fosters and nourishes talent and the spirit of ingenuity, and drives economic growth and national security through important and path-breaking innovations and discoveries in fields such as medicine, technology, and health. This success is also bolstered by public-private partnership, and a large and well-knit research infrastructure comprising a network of research universities, national labs, and federal agencies and initiatives that strive to attract talent from other nations as well, greatly strengthening American science in the progress. Science in the USA has also greatly boosted economic growth and material prosperity. However, this widely-acclaimed model is now facing new challenges due to potential cuts in research funding due to short-sighted political ideology and dogma, besides political motivation, and competition from other nations who are now attempting to play the catch-up game. 

 

While the United States was once a the unchallenged and unrivalled global science leader and scientific hegemon, there is an increasing concern that it is currently experiencing a decline driven by significant federal budget cuts, absence of a clear vision or a long-term plan, gradual erosion of public trust, withholding of promised funds for ongoing projects, and potential brain drain as researchers consider leaving the country for greener pastures abroad. This has led to cancelled, disrupted or compromised research projects, delayed timelines and delivery schedules, closures and rollbacks of institutions and projects, and an overall reduction in the number of graduate students, creating a negative ripple effect, adversely impacting American science, national security, and the economy in the process.

  

How the current crisis can help invigorate science in the long term

Many countries have experienced ups and down in science. For example, Ancient Greece produced thinkers such as Aristotle, Plato and Socrates, while India produced the likes of Varahamihira and Aryabhatta. Likewise, there was an Islamic golden age in science between the eighth and the fifteenth century after Christ, particularly in astronomy, mathematics, and medicine, with major contributions by Ibn-al-Haytham and others, and this is now passé; while many Islamic nations have experienced an economic revival in the recent past driven by petroleum exports, there is no education or pedagogy-led scientific revival in those countries as yet. Therefore, we will make the following points in this post:

1.       Science must reinvent itself- particularly social sciences – to reflect global requirements and perspectives, and developing countries, or all those who have a stake, or a horse in the race must take the lead here, and convince other nations to comply as applicable.

2.       The United States and other western nations as the custodians of the present university system, must also concur and update syllabi as required particularly in the social sciences which is still in some ways stuck in the old “European explorers exploring primitive cultures mold. This must also naturally happen as student enrollments drop.

3.       Indeed, the present crisis in western universities must be construed as an opportunity for science to reinvent itself.

4.       There must be cross-cultural research design adopted in research studies wherever required- particularly in the social sciences going forward, and a wide range of perspectives must be taken into account. Indeed, this must become the new benchmark and the new gold standard for aeons to come.

5.       Ethnography and data-driven research must be promoted wherever possible over hunches and armchair or lounge-lizard scholarship. For example, we have had theories such as the Out of Africa theory, and old theories on ancient India that not only did not cut the ice, but were appallingly wrong. We had written extensively about this in the past.

6.       Developing countries must also collaborate with each other as required at increasing levels– we had called this horizontal collaboration, and this must continue along with vertical collaboration and technology transfer which was the norm in the past.

7.       People in developing countries must develop a scientific temper as required, and social sciences can play a major and vital role here. Social sciences have thus far not lived up to their  expectations in fostering change, as they are mostly still stuck in an archaic colonial mold.

8.       University and research networks must be fostered and promoted in developing countries over a period. This is by no means easy, but indeed it must be attempted. Developing countries must foster and inculcate vision and a clear strategy. They must also compete with each other both meaningfully and productively.

9.       Universities in western nations must not close their doors to foreign talent as diversity and inclusivity in research will be of paramount importance in the twenty-first century.

10.   Education systems must be thoroughly revamped and overhauled wherever required, on the lines that we have been writing all along, and developing countries can also take the lead here if necessary, in order to circumvent western interests.