14-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Trump's attack on science risks dismantling a century of innovation
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.
In today's polarised national discourse, headlines focus on tariffs,
immigration and the culture wars. But behind the noise lies a far more consequential trend: the systematic
dismantling of America's scientific and research enterprise. Unlike a stock market crash or a military misstep, this decline is less visible, but the long-term costs could be far greater.
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.
Three critical developments changed that. First, the exodus of talent from Europe in the 1930s and 1940s brought brilliance to America's shores. Fleeing fascism and
antisemitism , Jewish and other persecuted scientists – including luminaries like
Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard – reinvigorated US academia and spearheaded advances from quantum physics to nuclear energy.
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.
