Politics and the Restraint of Science Leonard A. Cole Totowa, New Jersey: Rowman and Allenheld, 1983

Based on historical analysis, interviews, and a survey of scientists, Politics and the Restraint of Science inquires into the influence of political systems on scientific activities. The political and scientific systems in the United States are compared with systems in which scientific "truth" was externally imposed. Three historic cases are reviewed: the sixteenth-century Catholic Church's rejection of heliocentrism, and the Soviet and Nazi regimes' dictation of genetic I 'truths." The frequently stated view that political interference with scientific activities in the United States may lead to perversions of science such as those in the historic cases is shown to be unwarranted.