“This scheming at APS HQ is so bizarre that there cannot be a simple explanation for it. Some have held that the physicists of today are not as smart as they used to be, but I don’t think that is an issue. I think it is the money, exactly what Eisenhower warned about a half-century ago. There are indeed trillions of dollars involved, to say nothing of the fame and glory (and frequent trips to exotic islands) that go with being a member of the club.”
From Harold Lewis’ letter of resignation from the American Physical Society. Lewis is Emeritus Professor of Physics at UCSB.
“Exactly what Eisenhower warned about a half-century ago.”
That is, “the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex…”
I’ve heard many people connect the global-warming hoo-hah to the moneyed interests of our day, but I’ve never read anyone connect it to the influence of the military-industrial complex.