Science and Ideology: A Comparative History

284 Pages·2003·12.587 MB·English

by  Mark Walker

SCIENCE AND IDEOLOGY
Doesscience work best in a democracy? Was "Soviet" or "Nazi" science funda
mentally different from science in the USA? These questions have been
passionately debated in the recentpast.Particulardevelopments inscience took
place under particular political regimes, but they mayor may not have been
directlydetermined bythem.
Science and Ideology brings together a numberof comparative case studies to
examine the relationship betweenscience and the dominant ideologyofastate.
Cybernetics developments in the USA are compared to that of France and the
SovietUnion. PostwarAlliedsciencepolicy in occupiedGermany isjuxtaposed
to that in Japan. The essaysare narrowly focused, yet cover a wide range of
countries and ideologies. The collection provides a unique comparative history
ofscientificpolicies and practices in the twentiethcentury.
Mark Walker teaches modem European history and the history ofscience and
technology at Union College in Schenectady, NY. He has published several
books and articles on science under National Socialism, including Gernwn
National Socialism and the QuestforNuclear Power, 1939-1949 (1989) and Nazi
Science: Myth,Truth, and theGernwnAtomBomb (1995).
ROUTLEDGE STUDIES IN THE HISTORY OF
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND MEDICINE
Edited byJohnKrige, CRHST, Paris
RoutledgeStudies inthe History ofScience, Technology andMedicine aimstostimu
late research in the field, concentrating on the twentieth century. It seeks to
contribute toourunderstandingofscience, technologyand medicineasthey are
embedded in society,exploring the linksbetween the subjectson the one hand
and the cultural, economic, political and institutional contexts oftheir genesis
and developmenton the other.Within this framework,and whilenot favouring
any particular methodological approach, the series welcomes studies which
examine relations between science, technology, medicine and society in new
ways, for example, the social construction of technologies, large technical
systemsandsoon.
1 TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE
Methods and themes inthe historyoftechnology
EditedbyRobertFox
2 TECHNOLOGYTRANSFER OUT OF GERMANY AFTER 1945
EditedbyMatthiasJudtandBurghardCiesla
3 ENTOMOLOGY, ECOLOGY AND AGRICULTURE
The makingofscientificcareersinNorthAmerica, 1885-1985
Paolo Palladino
4 THE HISTORIOGRAPHY OF CONTEMPORARY SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY
EditedbyThomas Soderquist
5 SCIENCE AND SPECTACLE
The workof[odrell Bankinpost-warBritishculture
Jon Agar
6 MOLECULARIZING BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
Newpracticesandalliances, 191Os-1970s
EditedbySorayade ChadarevianandHarmke Kamminga
7 COLD WAR, HOT SCIENCE
Applied researchinBritain'sdefence laboratories 1945-1990
EditedbyRobertBudandPhilipGammett
8 PLANNING ARMAGEDDON
Britain, the UnitedStates and the command ofWestern nuclear forces
1945-1964
StephenTwigge andLenScott
9 CULTURES OF CONTROL
EditedbyMiriamR.Levin
10 SCIENCE, COLDWAR ANDTHE AMERICAN STATE
LloydV. Berknerand the balance ofprofessionalideals
AlanA. Needell
11 RECONSIDERING SPUTNIK
Fortyyearssince the Soviet satellite
EditedbyRogerD.Launius
12 CROSSING BOUNDARIES, BUILDING BRIDGES
Comparingthe historyofwomenengineers, 1870s-1990s
EditedbyAnnie Canel,RuthOldenzieland KarinZachmann
13 CHANGING IMAGES IN MATHEMATICS
Fromthe French revolution to the newmillennium
EditedbyUmberto BottazziniandAmy DahanDalmedico
14 HEREDITY AND INFECTION
The historyofdiseasetransmission
EditedbyJean-PaulGaudilliereand LlanaLowy
15 THE ANALOGUE ALTERNATIVE
Theelectric analogue computerinBritain and the USA, 1930-1975
JamesS. Small
16 INSTRUMENTS, TRAVEL AND SCIENCE
Itineraries ofprecision fromthe seventeenthto the twentiethcentury
EditedbyMarie-Noelle Bourguet, ChristianLicoppeand H.OttoSibum
17 THE FIGHT AGAINSTCANCER
France, 1890-1940
Patrice Pinell
AlsopublishedbyRoutledgeinhardbackand paperback:
SCIENCEAND IDEOLOGY
A comparativehistory
MarkWalker
iii
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SCIENCE AND
IDEOLOGY
A comparative history
Edited by Mark Walker
~l Routledge
~~
Taylor&FrancisGroup
LONDON AND NEWYORK
Firstpublished2003
byRoutledge
2ParkSquare,MiltonPark, Abingdon,Oxon OX14 4RN
SimultaneouslypublishedintheUSAandCanada
byRoutledge
711ThirdAvenue,NewYork,NY10017
RoutledgeisanimplintojtheTaylor& Francis Group,aninJormabusiness
©2003MarkWalkerforselection andeditorial matter; thecontributorsfor
individualchapters
TypesetinGoudybyTaylor& FrancisBooksLtd
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprinted or
reproducedorutilisedinanyformorbyanyelectronic,
mechanical,orothermeans,nowknownorhereafter
invented,includingphotocopyingandrecording,orinany
informationstorageorretrievalsystem,withoutpermissionin
writingfromthepublishers.
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData
Acataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromthe BritishLibrary
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Acataloguerecordforthisbookhasbeenrequested
ISBN0-415-27122-3(hbk)
ISBN0-415-27999-2(pbk)
I WOULD LIKE TO THANK DR. FREDERICK
SEITZ AND THE RICHARD LOUNSBERY
FOUNDATION FOR THEIR GENEROUS
SUPPORT.
THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO MY FAMILY,
CHRISTOPHER, KERRY, AND LINDA.
vii
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CONTENTS
Noteson contributors xi
1 Introduction: scienceand ideology 1
MARK WALKER
2 Science and totalitarianism: lessons for the twenty-first century 17
YAKOV M. RABKIN AND ELENA Z. MIRSKAYA
3 "Ideologicallycorrect" science 35
MICHAEL GORDIN. WALTER GRUNDEN. MARK WALKER. AND
ZUOYUE WANG
4 Fromcommunications engineeringto communications science:
cybernetics and information theory in the United States, France,
and the SovietUnion 66
DAVID MINDELL. JEROMESEGAL. AND SLAVA GEROVITCH
5 Science policyin post-1945 WestGermanyandJapan: between
ideologyand economics 97
RICHARD H. BEYLER AND MORRIS F. LOW
6 The transformation of nature underHitlerand Stalin 124
PAUL JOSEPHSON AND THOMAS ZELLER
7 Legitimation through use: rocketand aeronautic research in the
ThirdReichand the U.S.A. 156
BURGHARD CIESLA AND HELMUTH TRISCHLER
ix