Words such as growth, prosperity, business, market, competitiveness, productivity, and innovation littered the statements of scientists responding to [government]. Has science arrived at a moment where the only argument it feels can convince politicians is that science equals wealth, that science can only be measured in terms of money? Such a capitulation … seems a betrayal of the origins of science. Science proved its value through the contributions it made to improving the lives of citizens, to strengthening the welfare of society, and to creating knowledge to refine individual and political decision making. These arguments are now secondary, if offered at all. A second reason for disappointment is the narrowness of the argument made by some scientists …. A wider responsibility is to speak about the state of the society in which those one is concerned about live.
Richard Horton, 2015