A Companion to the Philosophy of Technology

Federal Patronage

Business in such a scientifically managed society would not be replaced by government, but would instead practice “self-governance” through the creation of a consensus that spanned the public and private sectors. The leading exponent of this view claimed the presidency in 1928. Unfortunately for President Herbert Hoover, the Great Depression derailed his attempt to implement such a vision. The New Deal state that emerged in its place under his successor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, presumed tension, if not hostility, between business and government. And it shattered most of the remaining constraints on federal authority, carrying out programs of “internal improvement” in a variety of technological fields, such as rural electrification and soil conservation.

Although the New Deal drew many technical experts into public service, it was not as extensive or as focused on science and technology as cognate developments in Europe; the vast bulk of technological capability in the US remained outside the compass of the state. The Second World War changed that. Under Roosevelt’s prodding and with the creative efforts of Hooverites like his science advisor Vannevar Bush, the US military moved from conservatism to a radical embrace of technology during the course of the war. Employing what pioneering science policy analyst Don K. Price later called “federalism by contract,” the armed forces engaged the knowledge and skills of the country’s most advanced firms and most ...