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conformist, while sociologist have been made into bogey men, 
which deflects from the reality, namely a) that good socio 
logists can be very useful for the solution of present-day 
problems, and b) that it is not the wild men who are most 
feared, but rather more sober men who might be a competition 
for the professional politician. 
Present State of Social Science 
A word must now be said on the present state of the social 
sciences which could hardly be neglected in the formulation 
of a social science policy. This state is not very satisfac 
tory. To give examples: 
In economics when great progress had been made between the 
wars it became clear that further advance would be more and 
more difficult with the old methods, that is, with very little 
mathematics and with only an occasional appeal to rather hap 
hazard and insufficient data. A great number of economists are 
still trained in the old style, that is, they know very little 
mathematics. There is now a growing number of those who only 
know mathematics. The growth of formalism results from the 
understandable wish to escape the world of political and social 
conflicts by retreat to an ivory tower. The achilles heel of 
economics is information. It is laborious and painful, often 
impossible,to get it. It requires a large apparatus, and is 
therefore dependent on organized research and on money for that