The politicization of science in order to set public policy has become a rather ugly symbiotic relationship between bureaucrats, scientists, and radical activists.
Money flows from the taxpayers to the scientists (often graduate level researchers) through various government agencies. Research is conducted, a result is published, and activists use the research to lobby for the policy they want.
The problem becomes when either the scientist or the bureaucrat is also an activist.
You get crappy publications like the Mann "Hockey stick" graph of climate. You get the climate-gate emails. You get more controversy in the public debate that goes back to bad science.
Ayn Rand predicted in "Atlas Shrugged" about the politicization of science, and unfortunately she was correct, at least her worst fears, an actual "Bureau of Science" has not emerged. But maybe she was referring to the National Academy of Sciences.
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