An alternative program for technical work is no panacea. Scientists must realize that in this society almost any type of research stands a chance of being perverted. For science to serve the people the basic social structure will have to changed. New tactics are needed. We can't get very far by organizing people...
Tag - alternative science and technology
During the summer of 1969 a group of Black students of Community College of Philadelphia challenged the Chemistry department to make chemistry relevant to Black students and their communities. Many communities surrounding Community College of Philadelphia have problems that can be solved by technical and scientific...
Occupational health and job safety issues have yet to become "hot" topics with the left like community health clinics, air pollution, or poisons in food, but lately there have been stirrings of interest. The topic has been discussed a bit in Science for the People but I think that it's important that SESPA members do...
Ten SESPA members visited the People's Republic of China in February and March as guests of the Chinese Scientific and Technical Association. Their four weeks were a very brief introduction to the practice of science under socialism. The possibility of the trip was first discussed in Boston in January, 1972...
In the last few years many of us have begun to question various aspects of our jobs as teachers. In part this has been due to an awakening consciousness among all teachers about the authoritarian nature of schools and the socializing function they perform. It has been due also to the broad recognition now that...
Though the phrasing varies, these simple principles are constantly referred to by the Vietnamese and Chinese — not just in explaining to the foreigner but also in conducting their own affairs. Notice there are no slogans "Protect academic freedom" or "let students make the decisions which affect their own lives": the...
When reaching for a fresh bottle of chemicals on the laboratory shelf, how often do we as chemists think about how the chemicals got there? Who actually made the chemicals? Who put them in the bottle? When we open the bottle and place it under a ventilating hood to avoid breathing the fumes, do we ever ask ourselves...
These perversions of science have not occurred without opposition. Several of the early atomic researchers tried unsuccessfully to prevent an A-bomb detonation over humans. In the 1950's, scientific workers and laymen combined in a movement opposed to nuclear weapons tests because of the harmful effects of radioactive...
The People's Health Movement (PHM) is an organization of welfare recipients, industrial workers, professionals, health workers and students. It has a membership of 300 people. It was started in February, 1971 when residents from many of Cincinnati's communities came together and expressed grave concern over the...
Medical institutions derive their wealth from patient fees, research grants and real estate investments. The wealth of many medical empires is measured in the tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars. Using this measuring rod, free clinics are but fleas on the hide of the elephantine medical system. Since the...