The quality of life in modern society depends heavily upon advances from science and technology that are now largely taken for granted. Yet, recent cuts to research across the western world may have changed the equation in a fundamental way. For example we have a growing loss of young scientists to do highly rewarded jobs such as manipulation of stocks and money in ways that have little value to society but are highly rewarded compared to science. We also have experienced researchers leaving the West for Asia where science and technology are aggressively supported. How close are the major reductions in science funding to a pivot point that may undercut quality of life in the West and endanger much of the world in terms of hunger, climate change, energy, and health due to emerging problems in these areas that would have been addressed by scientific advances before the reduced effectiveness of research in the western world.
Is that so ? Are we at such a point ? but probably is this the natural path of things ? And who knows all the benefits of financial engineering ? the western world must not be the template for the rest of the world, probably does nobody care anymore on western technology..
Of course if our supposed advances in science is not used or studied elsewhere, there will be some waste (of time, of wealth because ecologically we are now much more connected to environment, at least hopefully much more aware of it).
But instead of focusing on technology (and its side effects like finance, that is what we made out of our "siecles des lumieres"), the efforts of research goes into social science (with side effects in ecology), I am not the one to complain.
So if the west loses its attraction, what should be the reaction? Help and educate..
Not protectionism (in the IP form of it)..
It is one world, the West is certainly part of it, and we are in the same boat where environment needs to be considered as part of health and the economy. Science is never the whole answer nor does the West have any monopoly on science advances. However science provides key knowledge including knowledge of the environment and environmental impacts. Western scientific efforts have at least in some areas made leading advances that have positive impacts on health and quality of life by providing both knowledge and technology. Without such science and technology the world would not be able to feed most of the current population, we would still have serious smallpox, polio outbreaks, and most problems would be worse in various ways. Yet, even the most productive scientists I know are losing their staff, their labs, and too often their jobs and/or are spending too much time writing and reviewing proposals (rather than doing useful work) to try to keep their efforts alive. So yes I do think we are at or perhaps beyond a tipping point, but I would value discussion on these issues and where we might usefully provide positive solutions if any.
I wish you a happy new year and good luck in the fight for fundings.
Of course western science did a good job in many fields.. but also neglected something, since it is not understandable why research has so much difficulties to sustain itself in our western world. I think we created ourself this situation. We missed some basic points in education. We rationalised everything, giving some units to all problems of living, of all daily situation.. something called Dollar or Euro. We put even Science into these units... The Fab4 already told us : you can't buy my love.
We missed to give those basic human prameters a place in our rational model of the world. Nobody pays for faith no more.
Everything has to be backed up with 'securities'. Even if the West is still the ruling center of 'securities' business and development, we today all know that is belief in 'securities' is a mirage.
The way out of this? I do believe we need a reset. This one big boat needs to be smaller to regain manoeuvrability again.. At least give the smaller boats their right to share the same space. Something like biodiversity should also be valid for civilisation models.
This will be possible if the West stops drastically their 'modern' imperialism by dissiminating 'consumerism' (or 'growth' which is the only survival strategy for the West, at least to keep its actual stand of living).
We should all have a big step backward, and eat and use what we can do locally.
To me JP-Morgan is the proof of the failure of the Western culture.
I hope everyday on the 2. french revolution. (well a not so bloody one as the first)
Science is not a priority, at least not the traditional one. Research should focus on this new culture, this new civilisation model.. where creativity, invention, discoveries is for free. and where there is freedom for it to take place.
We created the universities and civil sevants to run them, giving them the freedom. But this consensus has been lost over the years.. this faith in those universities disappeared.. why? some misuse of the fredom from the civil servants? yes, probably also.. or got this institution too big.. or did some control on it corrupted its freedom?
yes, and yes..
A cultural biodiversity has to be protected.
The West established a dominant way-of-life that it is unable to revise by itself. This western culture needs urgently some renewing. Conservatism can kill you.
The model failed in 2008. Where are the islands of renewal?
I believe Island, Ireland, Greece or Detroit are the places where we should look at.
Those places where all the poeple could understand (feel) the failure of this western model.
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