The social contract for science is an evocative ideological construct used to describe the relationship between the political and scientific communities. Participants in science policy debates often invoke the social contract for science uncritically and flexibly, ritually referring to Vannevar Bush as its author and Science, The Endless Frontier (1945) as its text. The term, however, has no explicit connection to Bush, but explaining its history and usage is enlightening.

Historical Origins and Decline

There are two helpful hypotheses for origin of the phrase. One focuses on what Don K. Price called the "master contract" that formed the "basic charter" of the postwar relationship between the U.S. government and the scientific community (Price 1954, p. 70). This relationship "gives support to scientific institutions that yet retain their basic independence" (Price 1954, p. 67–68). A second hypothesis holds that the social contract for science is related to...