Freedom of Speech

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In "Freedom of Speech in Government Science" (Issues, Winter 2008), David B. Resnik raises troubling issues about the politicization of government science and threats to the freedom of speech of government scientists. The issue is complicated because government scientists necessarily work under conditions different from those of academic scientists. Unlike academia, where any scientist can manage to be heard (and perhaps be ignored), government scientists are perceived as speaking for their agency, and for legitimate reasons their public statements are subject to internal peer review. For example, a government scientist might be stopped from disseminating work that was judged to reflect …