Liberating the Social Sciences

Many scholars see government subsidies as a two-pronged threat to academic independence. Recalling the Lysenko case in the Soviet Union and the racial theories formulated by Nazi scientists, they fear that government contributions will become government control, and the results of research will be perverted to fit convenient political and ideological purposes. But even if the government never goes so far as to bend the truth, the scholars worry that the taint of political involvement may discredit research carried out with even the most legitimate motivation.

The fear that scholarship may become a slave to politics in the United States has been intensified over the past two years. Operation Camelot, a study of the causes of insurgency in underdeveloped nations, was cancelled by President Johnson after disclosure that the project was being financed by the Army provoked a political tempest in Chile. Another furor greeted reports that the Central Intelligence Agency was involved with a Michigan State University technical assistance program in South Vietnam.

The controversy over government financing of academic research is partly responsible for a bill now before the Senate that would set up an independent National Foundation for the Social Sciences. The agency, modeled after the National Science Foundation, would have an annual budget of $15 to $20 million with which to subsidize research in political science, psychology, economics and other social sciences.

Government aid to research is not bad in itself, but the aid has been channelled through "operational" agencies such as the C.I.A. that fit the research to their own narrow aims. The researchers also object to having their names attached to organizations carrying out clandestine and sometimes violent operations. The Foundation for the Social Sciences would protect academic independence--and academic reputations--by guaranteeing noninterference by other government agencies.

The legislation will rescue social scientists from the dilemma of needing government money but having no place to get it except through agencies with special political or military interests. If successful, the Foundation will open the way for even more aid to social research, but aid distributed to projects with more abstract value than preventing the next revolution.

The C.I.A. and the Defense Department will still need research data, and will continue to commission academic projects to obtain the information they want. But the National Foundation for the Social Sciences can provide an alternative source of government funds for the scholar who feels he cannot work for such agencies without compromising his academic integrity or his good name.