6 ms·

I think directing funding away from things can be political. It is like saying, "we don't want this question answered." Directing funding towards answering cert

I think directing funding away from things can be political. It is like saying, "we don't want this question answered." Directing funding towards answering certain questions isn't political in my mind, though.

hackuser 9y ago
How about directing funding toward creationism, or alternative views of the causes of climate change (i.e., non-human ones), or the benefits of authoritarianism? How about when the Koch brothers fund research into the benefits of their brand of libertarianism? Anything can be used politically.
- blackguardx 9y ago
  Funding research is different than funding a specific result. The latter is definitely political.
  - LanceH 9y ago
    The fact that there were votes to take someone's money away and give it to someone else makes it political no matter what it is spent on.
    - hackuser 9y ago
      That description is a misconception, IMHO. First, it's an investment; it's not taking away money; it's not robbery. It has a return, a benefit that generally exceeds the cost (I'm not sure how much I paid to fly Cassini to Saturn, but wow was it worth it). People make investments all the time and are happy to do it, in everything from houses to the local homeless shelter to a new computer. Second, people normally and frequently participate in group decisions, even though they rarely get exactly what they want. To suggest that anything besides an individual choosing alone is extraordinary - that isn't how people really operate.
geodel 9y ago
Recently I was watching on Netflix a show about 80s in US. It showed how funding for AIDS research was forced by activists. Though it might be a common incident, but it changed my perception how any type of funding seems forced either from outside by activists or by sympathizers who are in control of funding. People clearly seem to justify funding to their favorite cause as progress to humanity. However a progressive or otherwise agenda is itself purely politics.
- blackguardx 9y ago
  No, you missed my point. Not funding AIDS research is politics. Not researching a deadly disease is politics. Answering a question is research, deliberately avoiding a question is politics.

hackuser 9y ago

How about directing funding toward creationism, or alternative views of the causes of climate change (i.e., non-human ones), or the benefits of authoritarianism? How about when the Koch brothers fund research into the benefits of their brand of libertarianism? Anything can be used politically.

blackguardx 9y ago
Funding research is different than funding a specific result. The latter is definitely political.
- LanceH 9y ago
  The fact that there were votes to take someone's money away and give it to someone else makes it political no matter what it is spent on.
  - hackuser 9y ago
    That description is a misconception, IMHO. First, it's an investment; it's not taking away money; it's not robbery. It has a return, a benefit that generally exceeds the cost (I'm not sure how much I paid to fly Cassini to Saturn, but wow was it worth it). People make investments all the time and are happy to do it, in everything from houses to the local homeless shelter to a new computer. Second, people normally and frequently participate in group decisions, even though they rarely get exactly what they want. To suggest that anything besides an individual choosing alone is extraordinary - that isn't how people really operate.

geodel 9y ago

Recently I was watching on Netflix a show about 80s in US. It showed how funding for AIDS research was forced by activists. Though it might be a common incident, but it changed my perception how any type of funding seems forced either from outside by activists or by sympathizers who are in control of funding. People clearly seem to justify funding to their favorite cause as progress to humanity. However a progressive or otherwise agenda is itself purely politics.

blackguardx 9y ago
No, you missed my point. Not funding AIDS research is politics. Not researching a deadly disease is politics. Answering a question is research, deliberately avoiding a question is politics.