I want to illustrate three aspects of the influence of societal support on shifting cultures. First, the balance of strategic imperatives - the imperatives of the warriors and the victims, to use the terminology of Freeman Dyson4 - and their impact on the academic imperative to understand:
- defence
- creation of wealth warriors
- global competition
- environmental preservation
- health and welfare victims
- social justice
- quality of life
Then, two manifestations of a new relationship between societal support and the academic enterprise: the noticeable evolution of traditional modes of support, and a more subtle manifestation contributing to cultural shifts, which I call the ``intelligibility test''.
What follows is a collage of quotations, with commentary, taken mainly but not entirely from the literature of Canadian funding programs. If there are themes they are the usual ones: that the priorities of the warriors are in ascendance, with strong implications for academic cultures; and that the new stronger engagement of society with the academic enterprise carries with it a sense of ownership which can be wonderfully beneficial but also constricting - but the reader may deconstruct at will!