Dickson, Paul. Think Tanks. New York: Ballantine Books, 1972. 397 pages.
Not long after this book appeared in 1972, it was out of date. The
"think tank" phenomenon became much more politicized, beginning in the
1970s and continuing vigorously into the Reagan era, with the establishment
of private-sector institutes that pushed a public-policy agenda. Funded by
corporations and wealthy conservatives, these became an important part of
the so-called New Right. Heritage Foundation is the prime example of this
trend, but older conservative think tanks, such as the American Enterprise
Institute, also became major players during this period. This book is about
an earlier era of American think tanks. The major ones it describes are the
Hudson Institute, Institute for Defense Analyses, Arthur D. Little, Inc.,
Rand Corporation, Institute for Policy Studies, Center for Strategic and
International Studies, Stanford Research Institute, and the Urban Institute.
Some of these thrived on Pentagon contracts, while others specialized in
packaging a heady, befuddled, buzz-word futurism. Several of the former
were forced by student antiwar protesters to sever their university ties.
The relevance of this book since the decline of big government and
the end of the Cold War is even more doubtful. But it remains an excellent
history, and gives new meaning to President Eisenhower's warning in his
1961 farewell address that "public policy could itself become captive of
a scientific-technological elite."
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