The changes in the political economy of science are the natural outcome of two trends: science itself has become a more capital-intensive activity at the same time that federal support for research programs has slowed its growth. The results of the accumulating shortfall in the capital base for university research--increased seeking of support from private industry, efforts to circumvent peer review and competitive allocation, and a falling-out between institutions and investigators over how to divide up available resources--threaten to unravel what has been an extraordinary way of doing science.