'Reallocation of Responsibilities of Research Councils: Royal Society opposes Reform' was probably the runner-up to 'Small Earthquake in Peru: Not Many Dead' in the famous competition for the least sensational newspaper headline. Nevertheless, here we are, a generation into the nuclear era. The scientific bureaucrat can no longer be laughed off as a cross between Professor Branestawm and Dr Strangelove. Exactly how scientific expertise should be employed in the affairs of the nation is a central question of modern politics.

LRB 18 June 1981 | PDF Download