STS 275:

Science, Technology and Politics

 

Spring 2004

 

Modern developments in science and technology, both in their complexity and number, far exceed the ability of any single individual to master in their entirety. Combine these developments with the political circumstances that helped bring them aboutãnot to mention the attempted uses of our political system to regulate or direct themãand one faces subject matter that would overwhelm even the most assiduous and capable student. As a result, this course has the more limited objective of introducing students to the foundations of contemporary science and technology policy in the United States.

 

Because 2004 is an election year, we will pay special attention to the positions of both major parties on science and technology policy issues--beginning with President Bush's FY 2005 budget's allocations for research and development. We will also examine the ideology and institutions that led former President Eisenhower to caution the country against the ≥danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite;≤ the pluralistic nature of federal policy to promote science and technologyãespecially procurement and federal patent policy, by which vast public resources for research and development (R&D) are transferred to private industry; and three very different examples of modern technological developments that have brought in their wake different kinds of political or policy issues of long-term national significance. These are the creation of the ubiquitous Internet; the U.S. civil space program and the issue of continuing ≥manned≤ space-flight; and the role of technology in shaping the contemporary health care crisis in the U.S.

 

Most of us who are interested in science, technology and society will, at some point, have an opportunity to influence how decisions about the uses of science and/or technology are made. Thus the major writing/presentation assignment for this course is the preparation of a ≥policy brief,≤ or the background information that policy staffãwhether working for a government, private company, or non-profit organizationã prepare for those who make critical decisions on our behalf. The challenge will be to summarize an issue fairly and completely in as few words as possible, and to set out policy options based solely on the information you have provided. Because policy makers have busy calendars and short attention spans; the more effective we are in getting our information across in a short amount of time, the more likely it is that we can make a difference. You must submit your policy brief issue (topic) no later than April 1. No fooling!

 

Requirements:             1) Class participation: (20%)              3) Final: (30%)

                                    2) Mid-Term: (20%)                          4) Policy Paper: (30%)

 

Class Attendance:     Students are expected to participate fully in all classes. Absences will be allowed only for illness or family emergencies.

 

(continued)

 

Books used in this course:

 

STS 275 ≥Course-packPack≤ ≠ Selected Readings

Ruth Schwartz Cowan, A Social History of American Technology (Oxford, 1997 or later).

Thomas L. Friedman, The Lexus and the Olive Tree (Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1999).

David J. Rothman, Beginnings Count: The Technological Imperative in American Health Care (Oxford, 1997 or later).

 

1. Introduction (Thursday, Feb. 4)

 

Student interests ≠ Plan for the course -- Student ≥Policy Briefs≤ -- Policy Effectiveness

Handout and Discussion: ≥Open Systems≤ and Pluralism in U.S. Policy

 

2. Science Policy: Ideology and Institutions (Feb. 10, 12, 17)

 

U.S. policy (including science and technology policy) typically gets traction two ways: (a) in the allocations embedded in the federal budget, and (b) in the way regulatory and programmatic power is distributed throughout federal organizations and their "stakeholder" institutions. First we will look at the Bush budget proposed for FY (fiscal year) 2005 (begins October 1, 2004). Then we will focus on the institutions that make up the science policy åestablishment,π as well as the Center for Science in the Public Interest and Public Citizen, organizations that act as watch-dogs for public science and technology issues. Since institutions are held together partly by a shared ideology that echoes through their political rhetoric, we will begin with an overview of the ideology of science. (We will examine the ideology of technology in a later session.)

 

Two-Part Assignment due February 17: (Note: All on-line)

 

Part 1: Go to http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2005/budget.html. This is the Table of Contents for the White House/OMB (Office of Management and Budget) homepage for the President's FY 2005 Budget Proposals. Print out for class discussion: "Overview of the President's 2005 Budget," and "Summary Tables;" also print out and be familiar with the terms in the "Glossary." From the same Table of Contents, "click" on the special pages for the agencies listed below. While you need to print out these additional pages, you should browse through them and make some notes on their general characteristics and summarize the basic information in them.

 

            Department of Energy

            Department of Health and Human Services (scroll to National Institutes of Health)

            Department of Transportation

            Corps of Engineers--Civil Works

            Environmental Protection Agency

            National Aeronautics and Space Administration

            National Science Foundation

Now visit the websites of any three of the possible Democratic presidential nominees. Do they have any proposals involving science and/or technology? What are they? How do they compare with the proposals embedded in the President's FY 2005 budget?

 

Part 2: Visit each of the websites below. Some are attractive and informative, some are less so. What can you learn or infer about each institution from its website? How inviting and easy to use is its website? What seem to be the ≥hot≤ issues, judging by whatπs featured on the website? You should go to at least 2 levels of links. (That is, check out the home page, the first tier of links from the home page, and any interesting links attached to them.)

 

http://www.house.gov/science                        http://www.ostp.gov/index.html                   

http://nationalacademies.org/                          http://www.aaas.org/spp/

http://www.senate.gov (subcommittees on    http://www.citizen.org          

Commerce, Science Transportation;             http://www.cspinet.org

Energy and Natural Resources                      http://www.opensecrets.org

                                                                        (Center for Responsive Politics)

 

3. Technology Policy: Adam Smith in America (Feb. 19, 24, 26)

 

Some industrialized nations have instituted centrally managed technology policies to increase their ≥competitiveness≤ in the modern technology-driven economy. The United States is not one of them. Instead, the United States has instituted an array of federally administered measures to promote favorable conditions for technological innovation. The reasons for this go back at least to 1776, when Adam Smithπs The Wealth of Nations first appeared in English. Alexander Hamilton, architect of economic policy for the new republic, was one of Smithπs most appreciative readers. (Translated into every Western European language within a few years, The Wealth of Nations continues to be a widely read and influential book.) We will see how Smith, Hamilton, and later economic thinkers integrated technological innovation into our understanding of the dynamics of economic growth.

 

Reading assignment due February 26:

 

Ruth Schwartz Cowan, A Social History of American Technology, Chapters 4-6, 9 ≥The Early Decades of Industrialization,≤ ≥Transportation Revolution,≤ ≥Inventors, Entrepreneurs and Engineers≤ and ≥American Ideas About Technology≤

 

4. The Science and Technology Policy Toolkit (March 2, 4, 9 & 11)

 

U.S. science and technology policy consists of a pluralistic array of policies and administrative measures to promote scientific research and technological innovation. Some have had a greater known impact than others. The ≥toolkit≤ includes favorable revenue treatment for R&D, federal information policy, federal intra-mural laboratories, the federal advisory committee system, procurement (e.g., research grants for university researchers, defense weapons systems contracts), and federal intellectual property policy. How do we judge which of these policies and measures is most effective? That may less important to their survival than that they have sufficient constituency support for ideological, political and pocket book reasons.

 

Reading assignment, due March 11:

Linda R. Cohen and Roger Noll, The Technology Pork Barrel, (Brookings Institution, 1991), Chapter 1, pp. 1-16, "New Technology and National Economic Policy." In Course-pack.

 

Gordon Adams, The Iron Triangle: Politics of Defense Contracting (Council on Economic Priorities), Chaps. 1, 8, 9 & 11; pp. 19-30, 105-154, 165-174. In Course-pack.

 

Norman Augustine, Augustine's Laws, (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1983), Chapter 1, "Unbounded Enthusiasm." In Course-pack.

 

5. ≥Open Systems≤ and the World of the Internet (March 16, 18, 30)

 

The technological infrastructure of cyberspace ≠ the Internet ≠ has had a profound impact on social, economic, and political relations within nations and among nations. We will consider this phenomenon as well as the policy questions raised by the growing use of the Internet within the United States. These questions tend to cluster around the applicability in cyberspace of (a) constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech and freedom from unreasonable search and seizure; (b) federal regulatory power over the networks over which Internet communications occur; and (c) federal anti-trust policy.

Reading assignment due March 30:

 

Thomas J. Friedman, The Lexus and The Olive Tree (Farrar, Straus and Giroux,

1999), Chapters 1, 2, 7-9, 15-18. This is a most readable book; read all of it if and when you can.

Ruth Schwartz Cowan, A Social History of American Technology (Oxford, 1997), Chapter 12, pp. 279-283 (≥Government Regulation of Wireless Communications≤), 294-299 (≥Computers≤ and ≥Conclusion: The Ultimate Failure of Efforts to Control Electronic Communications≤).

 

Mid-Term Review; Student Presentation of Policy Brief Topics (April 1)

 

Note: You will receive written guidance (and any other help you might need) on the policy brief assignment. Students will make oral presentations as well as submit written papers. Computer prepared presentation material (e.g., ≥Power Point≤ software) or overhead vu-graphs or transparencies may not be used for the oral presentations. Paper handouts are fine, provided you a) do not rely on the handout to make your argument, and 1) bring enough copies for each student.

 

6. Mid-Term Examination (April 6)

 

The mid-term will combine multiple-choice and an essay questions.

 

7. U.S. Civil Space Policy: The Legacy of its Cold War Origins and the Problem of ≥Manned≤ Space Flight (April 8, 13)

 

Since their beginnings, U.S. activities in Earth orbit and outer space have been pursued as subordinate to the multiple agendas that are the stuff of post-World-War II national politics. We will consider how and why this is so, and some of the more recent policy consequences. These include the issue of whether to continue human space activities and how to pay for them, and the causes and consequences of efforts since the Reagan administration to ≥commercialize≤ or ≥privatize≤ civil space activities.

 

Reading assignment due April 13:

 

Ruth Schwartz Cowan, A Social History of American Technology (Oxford, 1997), Chapter 11, ≥Taxpayers, Generals and Aviation.≤

 

Public Law 85-568, ≥National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, As Amended.≤ Selected portions. In Course-pack.

 

John F. Kennedy, ≥Urgent National Needs: An Address to a Joint Session of Congress≤ (May 25, 1961). Entire. In Course-pack.

 

The White House, ≥Fact Sheet: National Space Policy≤ (September 19, 1996). Entire. In Course-packpak.

 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration, ≥General Public Space Travel and

Tourism,≤ Vol. I, Executive Summary. (Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, February 1997. Selected Portions. In Course-pack.

 

8. The Technological Imperative and the Crisis in U.S. Health Care (April, 15, 20, 22)

 

Issues associated with the use, abuse, and allocation of the costs and benefits of medical and bio-technologies are the fuel that powers the current health care crisis. For example, paying for drug costs was the principal driver in recently enacted Medicare reform legislation. We will survey some of these issues, recent efforts to resolve them, and consider the circumstances under which they might be resolved within the foreseeable future.

 

Reading assignment due April 22:

 

Ruth Schwartz Cowan, A Social History of American Technology (Oxford, 1997), Chapter 13, ≥Biotechnology.≤

 

David J. Rothman, Beginnings Count: The Technological Imperative in American Health Care (Oxford, 1997 or later). Entire.

 

10. Student Presentations of Policy Briefs (April 27, 29)

 

Student grades will depend not only on content, but adherence to format and length requirements for the written paper. For the oral class presentations, no use of computer assisted audio/visual aids (e.g., Microsoft ≥Power Point≤) or overhead projector vu-graphs or transparencies will be allowed.

 

11. Wrap-Up (May 4)                                             

 

We will consider, finally, the potentially grave social and political consequences for constitutional democracies of the loss of skilled jobs due to the spread of ≥labor-saving≤ technologies and the exportation of skilled jobs to non-Western societies with lower labor costs. What kinds of policies might nations--beginning with the United States--initiate to address this challenge?

 

Reading assignment due May 4:

 

Amy Sue Bix, Inventing Ourselves Out of Jobs? (The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000), Epilogue. In Course-pack.

 

12. Final Exam: May 6

 

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Notes: