By working together internationally, scientists can better use their knowledge to benefit humanity. In the early 1990s, the Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology, and Government published a series of reports emphasizing the need for a greatly increased role for science and scientists in international affairs. In a world full of conflicting cultural values and competing needs, scientists everywhere share a powerful common culture that respects honesty, generosity, and ideas independently of their source, while rewarding merit. Our goal is to create a scientific network that becomes a central element in the interactions between nations, increasing the level of rationality in international discourse while enhancing the influence of scientists everywhere in the decisionmaking processes of their own governments. I want to begin that effort by suggesting four principles that should guide our activities.
Science can be a powerful force for promoting democracy.
The vitality of a nation's science and technology enterprise is increasingly becoming the main driver of economic advancement around the world. Success requires a free exchange of ideas as well as universal access to the world's great store of knowledge. Historically, the growth of science has helped to spread democracy, and this is even more true today. Many governments around the world exert power over their citizens through the control of information. But restricting access to knowledge has proven to be self-destructive to the economic vitality of nations in the modern world.