Who Benefits From Science?

Creating a new future means changing our institutions and social relations. But it also means reviewing what philosophers call our fundamental ontology—the basic categories we use to think about our challenges, and the basic ways we find meaning in our lives.

What the pandemic seems to show is that all our tools for acting in the face of massive uncertainties have added up to much less than the promised quality of control. It has become clear, indeed, that in the face of this well-foreseen challenge to our well-being, human capacities to steer our world based on our understanding of it exist largely in our imaginations.

National Academy of Medicine President Victor Dzau and recent NAM Foreign Secretary Margaret “Peggy” Hamburg discuss pandemic preparedness, the toll the pandemic is taking on vulnerable populations, and the prospects for a COVID-19 vaccine.

Why is it that neoclassical economists have failed to see the impact that foreign competition has had on the economic growth of the United States and the United Kingdom? I think the answer is that at the center of neoclassical economic growth theory is still the assumption that the market economy is one of perfect competition.

The nation has actively pursued “urban renewal” and “slum clearance” since the Great Depression, and “innovation hubs” and “tech corridors” more recently, yet not one consciously devised revitalization solution has stemmed decay in any significant way.

In an economic environment characterized by growth but also by extreme inequality, science and technology not only reinforce inequality but also, in some instances, help widen the gap. Science and technology can be a regressive factor in the economy.

With more than 40 companies racing to put automated vehicles on the road, why does commercial availability seem always just over the horizon? Safety is among the most compelling arguments for automated vehicles, and yet safety remains a major hurdle for their development.

Do fish feel pain? For over 50 years, this question has been the focus of multiple scientific careers and consumed countless hours of research, debate, and reflection. But a different and related question has received far less attention: how and why did fish pain come to be a contentious scientific question in the first place?

Radar, penicillin, the atomic bomb—these technologies helped win World War II, in large part because the US government supported their development. Today, the nation faces a new enemy in COVID-19, and fresh questions about how government support can help develop drugs and vaccines as quickly, effectively, and affordably as possible.