Opinion | Trump’s attack on science risks dismantling a century of innovation
Restrictive visa policies, rhetoric targeting academic institutions and proposed budget cuts to scientific agencies mark the start of US retreat
American dominance in science and innovation was not inevitable. It was a deliberate, strategic achievement born of open borders, inclusive institutions and forward-looking investment in education and research. That edge, forged over a century, is eroding – quietly but rapidly threatening the foundations of US leadership worldwide.
For much of modern history, the United States was a scientific follower, not a leader. In the early 20th century, Germany reigned supreme in chemistry, physics and engineering. British universities set the global research agenda. Between 1901 and 1930, Germany received about one-third of all Nobel Prizes in science; the US garnered just 6 per cent.
Though Jews comprised less than 1 per cent of Germany’s population at the time, they earned over 25 per cent of its scientific Nobels – a staggering figure that illustrates the calibre of minds who fled.
Second, the devastation of World War II levelled Europe’s research infrastructure. The Soviet Union lost more than 24 million people; Britain, France and Germany lay in ruins. The US, by contrast, emerged with its economy, institutions and innovation hubs intact and ascendant.