Science thrived in the atmosphere of honesty, integrity, and the work ethic that previously prevailed in the United States. This atmosphere still exists in some pockets of productivity, both in America and abroad. It is, however, faltering in American society as a whole - as the moral atmosphere in that society is degraded. The rigorous integrity that prevailed on the Caltech campus of my youth was not taught in courses. It was taught in the only way such principles are really learned - by example.
Children learn primarily by example - as do most adults.
Even this, however, may not be enough when their time outside the laboratory is spent in a moral and ethical atmosphere that is alien to the truth. When science, in addition, depends for its funding upon welfare payments from a government that no longer is interested in the truth, the ethics required for reliable scientific work gradually disappear. Science, technology, and true free enterprise are in decline in the United States. With that decline will come the gradual withdrawal from American society of the fruits of these activities. Already, real living standards are decreasing.