Physics and the Polity

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According to my unabridged dictionary, the polity is "the form, constitution, or method of government of a nation or state, or of any other institution in which men are organized and governed." The term polity as I use it here is much broader than government; it is intended to include all the institutions and relationships that govern a society, implement its purposes, and reach workable compromises between the divergent interests and values of its parts.

The period from the beginning of World War II to the early part of the 1960's saw a unique marriage between physics and the polity, the ardor of which is now beginning to cool, although it is not yet clear that it will end in divorce. To some extent, of course, the marriage was between society and science as a whole, not just physics. But I think it fair to say that the role of physics has been central in 'its development. Physicists were prominent in the formation and staffing of the various institutions that have characterized the relations between government and science, and the applications of physics in the creation of the new technologies that have characterized the development of our increasingly science-based society.

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