“It would be profoundly disobliging to think that power and authority in academic life bear any resemblance to, say, the transactions taking place in a transnational corporation or a correctional facility. But suppose they do?” —Scott McLemee
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1 response so far ↓
Mormon Paleo // February 18, 2008 at 10:07 am
Excellent question.
We suppose that governments are objective in regulation, intelligence gathering, fact-finding, providing research funding, etc. If several government-funded research studies report similar findings, many people think, “Then that must be how it is.” But if a cadre of lightly related privately-funded research studies supported each other, skepticism (often deep) ensues.
Why is it that the actions of government are so often assumed to be objective, noble, and above the petty concerns we in the private sector deal with? Shouldn’t we at least question the validity of this assumption that government is inherently objective?
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