Pure mathematics in our society Is there some book or essay which deals with the sociological and economical justification of doing and funding pure mathematics? I'm looking for a modern version of Hardy's A Mathematician's Apology, but if possible from a non-mathematician's point of view. For example, the book should answer the following type of questions: 

Why is it (and should it be?) possible in our society to earn a living by calculating, say, K-theory groups of spectra? Why does the society support a subculture of mathematicians who solve abstract problems which "obviously" don't have any connection to the rest of the world?

I'm not asking for personal opinions from math.SE users - this is a reference request.

Not an essay or book, but there is a rather informative and clear video address by Timothy Gowers (a Fields Medalist) in 2000 on the "Importance of Mathematics" for an audience containing non-mathematicians in Paris. 
He specifically addresses the issue of the (enormous) benefits that mathematics yields on a (very small) investment, its intrinsic cultural value and the interconnectedness of mathematics that make the "useful" areas inseparable from the "useless" ones. 
It is available for download from the Clay Math Institute's website here, you'll have to scroll down to the bottom of that page for the download link. 
