Liberal Arts Services

Public Policy & the Political Imagination

Policy in the US often has been built upon the belief in technology’s ability to transform society in positive ways, often informed by science fiction and the imagination. In a speech in 2000 outlining the mission of the NNI, President Bill Clinton forwarded a vision of a utopic society that would be possible with the development of nanotechnology:

"Just imagine, materials with 10 times the strength of steel and only a fraction of the weight; shrinking all the information at the Library of Congress into a device the size of a sugar cube; detecting cancerous tumors that are only a few cells in size. Some of these research goals will take 20 or more years to achieve. But that is why — precisely why…there is such a critical role for the federal government."

This speech reflected other visions outlined by President Clinton, for example, on the impacts of the Internet on traditionally marginalized communities. For example, Clinton told an audience of Native Americans in the Southwestern US:

"I am here because I believe the new technologies like the Internet and wireless communications can have an enormous, positive impact in the Navajo Nation. They can help you to leap-frog over some of the biggest hurdles to develop your economic and human potential. They can make great distances virtually disappear. They can be a vehicle for job growth, for education, for health care, for employment opportunities. They can be the greatest equalizers our society has ever known."

His speech was part of a series of events called the New Markets Tour whereby the president visited several traditionally poor or disadvantaged communities across the US to promote economic development. The purpose of the events, and the attention drawn to these impoverished areas, was described as to “spotlight the great potential for growth, profit, and economic opportunity in these untapped markets. It will also show how long-term partnerships can be used as a model for tapping this potential.”

By 2005, the US government was supporting research on nanoscience in excess of $600 million. Almost half of this funded research was supported by the US Department of Defense, and another estimated $300 million was channeled through the National Science Foundation (Roco 2004). Much of the funding for nanoscience that was appropriated by the US Congress was a direct result of utopic, transformational visions of the technology continuously espoused in Congressional testimony.

The impact of such utopic visions of a perfect society via nanotechnology development reflects the role of language and discourse in shaping reality. Often, the way people talk about a given technology shows how they see the role of technology in society. For example, the term “cyberspace” refers to the space of online Internet activities and illustrates how many people perceive the Internet as being separate from offline society. Clinton reflected this when he called the Internet “the greatest equalizer our society has ever known.” Some argue that utopic, metaphoric, and heroic visions are required to engage the public imagination on the potentials of science, thus spurring lawmakers to fund such research.

Predictions about the future often reflect contemporary concerns, that is, imagining the future is framed by contemporary experiences and points of reference. In the 1990s, concerns about the environment, sustainable development, and economic advantage in a competitive global marketplace are often stated concerns of policymakers in the US and the European Union.

Public policy regarding new technologies is not always geared towards mitigating impacts or fostering research. In the case of the US, bipartisan support of any given policy is not necessarily the result of the same motivations.