Universities: M.I.T. and the Pentagon

In the days when wars were simple —and considered just—the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was a proud developer of U.S. weaponry. As a patriotic duty in World War II, for instance, the school's electronics wizards perfected the radar that foiled Hitler's bombers. Now duty has become a Faustian dilemma. In the age of antiwar dissent, M.I.T. still gets more money from the Pentagon—$108 million last year —than any other U.S. university. The result has thrust M.I.T. to the forefront of a growing national debate: What role, if any, shall universities play in...

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