[Air-l] Re: is this internet studies?

[halavais at buffalo.edu]

A further difficulty may be in determining the boundaries of such a 
gesture, at least to a degree such that the preponderance of 
researchers could agree upon it. For example, a rejection of funding 
directly from the military would likely be a relatively easy pill to 
swallow, at least for some. While I am sure that there are those on 
the list who receive funding from, say, the US Navy or from DARPA, 
they make up a fairly small minority. 

But this is only the most direct connection. Do we also reject funding 
related to "defending our homeland," for example? For those with NIH 
or NSF funding, it would have been hard not to notice the change in 
funding priorities over the last two years. Do we reject industry-
sponsored research from companies that profit during war and its 
aftermath? There are a number of sources remaining for funded research 
beyond these two, but this list becomes increasingly attenuated when 
you eliminate funding that is in any way related to military action. 

Finally, I think it is worth asking whether "the military" is really 
responsible for wars. Of course, they have the greatest proximate 
responsibility, but it may very well be that other sources of funding 
provide the impetus for such wars. I certainly do not think all wars 
are fought over profits, but most are fought over resources. In that 
regard, at least, I think Bucky Fuller had the right idea: focus on 
distribution and resource allocation, and you may find the leverage 
needed for peace. Indeed, the most effective way of providing for 
peace, rather than being more conscientious consumers of research 
funding, may be making the causes of war a focus of our research.

With hopes for a peaceful new year,

Alex



Quoting david silver <dsilver at u.washington.edu>:

> just because militarization has always been a part of academia, esp
> US
> academia, doesn't mean we have to continue along this path.  if we
> diverge, there will be of course certain losses (like $45 million
> grants
> from the US army) but those losses come with certain gains too.
> 
> david
> 
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