Liking Ike

Eisenhower was a man from old America. Rural and unsophisticated, he had never been to Europe until he attacked it. He was always seen as a caretaker as President, never a politician or ideologue. Yet he had some real visionary substance as evidenced in his farewell address to the nation in January 1961. In it he spoke about "... threats, new in kind or degree, ..[which]..constantly arise." He then said, "Of these, I mention two only." He then warned about "the acquisition of unwarranted influence" of the "military-industrial complex," a phrase and concern that everyone remembers. But what was the second "threat?"

He described it as "the technological revolution during recent decades." But it is not the technology. "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." He explains further: "..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. "

A government contract a substitute for intellectual curiosity. Domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money. These are profound worries from a straightforward man, a man on the inside who could see it clearly.

"The military-industrial complex." And the "science-government complex." Complex: A whole made up of interconnecting parts, that is, something different from its constituents.

 

A science-government complex is something new.