Editor’s Introduction

Arien Mack Editor’s Introduction “ POLITICS A N D SC IE N C E” IS THE FIFTEENTH IN THE SOCIAL RESEARCH conference series, w hich began in 1989. From the beginning, this series has tried to foster public discussion of m atters of grave im por­ tance, and has explored those m atters both in term s of their im medi­ ate im port and, whenever possible, w ithin their historical and cultural contexts. To realize the m ission of the conference series, we attem pt w ith each conference to bring together scholars and practitioners from a broad array of disciplines so that the topics are viewed from a range of perspectives. But som ething has happened to this series in the past few years that reflects the troubling changes in our society, w ith the conse­ quence that the conferences have become less scholarly and academic, and decidedly m ore political. Despite our efforts, it turned out to be extrem ely difficult to get representatives of the current adm inistra­ tion to agree to speak at this conference. In fact, the list of people who declined our invitation to participate is an impressive one. Current events seem designed to m ake the subject of “Politics and Science” increasingly relevant to w hat is going on between scien­ tists, policymakers, and governm ent officials. However, the initial idea for the conference grew out of my reading of a Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) report, issued in February 2004, on scientific integrity, in which the group called for immediate steps to be taken to “restore the integrity of science in the federal policymaking process.” This state­ m ent was signed by over 8,000 scientists, including 49 Nobel laure­ ates, 63 National Medal of Science recipients, and 171 members of the National Academies of Sciences. In June 2005, Anthony Romero, direc­ social research Vol 73 : No 3 : Fall 2006 v tor of the American Civil Liberties Union, issued a report docum enting how recent changes in federal policy have imposed “excessive, unnec­ essary, and ineffective restrictions on scientists.” Unfortunately, things have only continued to get worse. It is, I hope, our not-too-delusional wish that this issue of Social Research, w hich contains th e papers from the “Politics and Science” conference, will help to change the relationship betw een scientists and policymakers so that the policies enacted will be based on the best scientific research available and will protect our well-being and that of future generations here and around the world. I am deeply grateful to our funders, the Hewlett Foundation and the Packard Foundation, for their generous support of the conference, and to the m any people who did their best to educate me on this subject and to those who worked w ith me to m ake the conference happen. Anew.Mack EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to the author's oversight, some passages in “The Political ‘Participation’ of Entrepreneurs: Challenge or O pportunity for the Chinese Com m unist Party?” by Gilles Guiheux, published in Social Research 73:1 (Spring 2006), were not acknowledged as quoted material. The passages in question occurred on page 223, lines 17-22 (“the mere existence... vaiying degrees.”)and page 231, lines 22-31 (“The ex ten t... their m em bers”). Both passages were quoted from a paper by Kellee S. Tsai, entitled “A Divided Class: The Politics o f Private Enterprise and Self-Employment in China,” delivered at the 2000 Annual Meeting of the Association for Asian Studies. The first passage also appeared in a revised version of the paper, published as “Capitalists w ithout a Class: Political Diversity Among Private Entrepreneurs in China, ” w hich appeared in Comparative Political Studies 38:9 (Nov 2005): 1130-1158. We apologize to our readers and to Professor Tsai for this oversight. Arien Mack and Jean-Philippe Beja vi social research ...