Science Quote by Michael Polanyi

Polanyi is arguing that science does not sell itself; it has to be sold, collectively, by scientists who speak with enough unity to make “scientific progress” feel like a public good rather than a niche hobby. The slightly managerial phrasing - “strong and united,” “imposing,” “eliciting support” - gives away the real anxiety underneath: democratic societies don’t automatically bankroll curiosity. They bankroll stories about why curiosity matters.

The intent here is defensive, almost preemptive. Polanyi wants to protect scientific inquiry from being reduced to a short-term, utilitarian instrument (“Show us the immediate payoff”) or, worse, from becoming a political football. The subtext is that public opinion is fickle and that institutions can be bent by moral panics, ideological campaigns, or budget hawks. If science fragments into internal squabbles, it becomes easier for outsiders to dismiss research as indulgent, suspect, or captured by interests.

Context matters: Polanyi wrote in the shadow of totalitarian planning and wartime mobilization, when governments learned to harness research for power and propaganda. His larger project, especially in The Republic of Science, insists that discovery thrives in a decentralized community of experts, guided by internal standards rather than direct popular mandate. The rhetorical move is paradoxical: he defends scientific autonomy by calling for a coordinated “scientific opinion” capable of shaping society’s values. It’s a reminder that neutrality is not a strategy. If scientists won’t articulate the intrinsic case for inquiry, someone else will define science’s worth - usually in narrower, more obedient terms.