Ian Boyd - Böcker

The recent coronavirus pandemic proved that the time-old notion seems now truer than ever: that science and politics represent a clash of cultures. But why should scientists simply “stick to the facts” and leave politics to the politicians when the world seems to be falling down around us?Drawing on his experience as both a research scientist and an expert advisor at the centre of government, Ian Boyd takes an empirical approach to examining the current state of the relationship between science and politics. He argues that the way politicians and scientists work together today results in a science that is on tap for ideological (mis)use, and governance that fails to serve humanity’s most fundamental needs. Justice is unlikely—perhaps impossible—while science is not a fully integrated part of the systems for collective decision-making across society.In Science in Politics, Boyd presents an impassioned argument for a series of conceptual and structural innovations that could resolve this fundamental tension, revealing how a radical intermingling of these (apparently contradictory) professions might provide the world with better politics and better science.Also available as an audiobook.

The aim of this book and a brief description of its con­ tents appear in chapter I. The purpose of this preface is to express our thanks to various people and organizations. Professor Peter Groenewegen of Sydney University and Dr. Michael Krueger of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst have both been extremely helpful in reading the ma­ terial and proffering many valuable suggestions. We also wish to thank an anonymous referee for Springer Verlag, for his critical reading and comments. Naturally, we take full responsibility for whatever errors and shortcomings remain. OUr thanks go to Haifa University, particularly the mem­ bers of the Haifa University Computation Center, for their patience and help in the preparation of the manuscript and production of camera copy. It is a pleasure to acknowledge the assistance of various members of staff of the University of New South Wales, and in particular those at the computer facility within the School of Mathematics. Ian Boyd, Sydney, Austral ia John Blatt, Haifa, Israel. Table of Contents Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION AND BRIEF SUMMARY. . . . . . 1 THE TRADE CYCLE. 7 CHAPTER 11. A BRIEF HISTORICAL SURVEY OF Section A: Why the nineteenth century? • • • • • • • • • 7 Section B: Classification of Cycles. • • •• 10 11 Section C: The Crash of 1873. ••• •• Section D: Asymmetry between Rise and Fall. •• 15 Section E: The Speed of the Crash. 17 · . . . .