ABSTRACT
The important influence of cultural settings cannot be neglected in any detailed examination of the relationship between the social sciences and government. In this final section of the book, two chapters are concerned with the development of the social sciences in two sharply contrasting settings: the pluralistic atmosphere of the United States; and the People's Republic of Poland - an environment influenced both by long-term historical trends and by current ideological developments. Cultural considerations also dominate questions regarding the role that the social sciences can play within the new and emerging nations - a third chapter deals with this, examining some of the erroneous assumptions that, to date, appear to have dominated this area. Finally, the section is concluded with a short examination of the extent to which social science policy constitutes an area in itself - to what degree can a 'meta-policy' (i.e. a policy for making social science policy) be established?
