Editorial Board
If America Doesn’t Want Harvard, Somebody Else Will
Defunding academic research is a spectacular act of self-harm. If the US persists, other countries are right to step in.
High-yield investment.
Photographer: Joseph Prezioso/AFP/Getty ImagesIn the 1930s and 1940s, America played a crucial role in keeping academic inquiry alive. By welcoming thousands of researchers fleeing fascism in Europe, it enhanced its national brainpower and fostered breakthroughs of immense value to people everywhere — from the digital computer to the discovery of DNA.
Now it’s in the process of throwing that priceless legacy away. If wiser minds don’t prevail, one can only hope Europe and others will step into the breach.