Science for society

Abstract

During the second part of the 20th century, the social contract between science and society was merely a tacit agreement foreseeing that public money would finance the research that would sustain technology development and innovation and enhance the socio-economic well-being of our society. The spheres of science, politics, and society were largely separate. Today this model has changed. Chapter 7 of the EPS Challenges for Physics deals with this issue.