The Marxist Critique of Capitalist Science: A History in Three Movements?

摘要

I want to understand, as a participant and observer as well as a scholar, the history and prospects of the Marxist critique of capitalist science. This perspective underlay the political theories and practices of Left-wing scientific movements that flourished initially in Britain, France, and the US in the 1930s and 1940s, and which were later revitalized and transformed in the 1960s and 1970s. In both periods, socialist intellectuals—whether professional scientists or social analysts and activists concerned with science and technology—turned to the Marxisms of their day. Those intellectuals sought help not only to understand more deeply the historical drivers and political economy of scientific endeavour, but also to generate sustained critiques of capitalist science, campaigns for greater 'social responsibility' in science, and practical activities that embodied an ethos of 'science for the people' as well. These initiatives in theory and practice were mainly inspired by and intended to strengthen the dominant socialist movements of their times. An important by-product of their political commitments was a considerable body of work on the history, sociology, and politics of science.