President Eisenhower Farewell Address
17 January 1961 | Re: Military-Industrial-[Intelligence]-Complex Warning |
“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-(intelligence)-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.”
Link To Video
Transcript_“Eisenhower, Dwight D. – Farewell Address”
“Akin to, and largely responsible for the sweeping changes in our industrial-military posture, has been the technological revolution during recent decades.
In this revolution, research has become central; it also becomes more formalized, complex, and costly. A steadily increasing share is conducted for, by, or at the direction of, the Federal government…
…The prospect of domination of the nation’s scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present-and is gravely to be regarded.
Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite.
It is the task of statesmanship to mold, to balance, and to integrate these and other forces, new and old, within the principles of our democratic system-ever aiming toward the supreme goals of our free society.”