Category Archives: Sci-tech

“Such was the man of science. But this was not even half of the man. Science was for Marx a historically dynamic, revolutionary force.” — Friedrich Engels, at Marx’s graveside

Quantum parallelism and scientific realism

Posted on 28/05/2013 by Paul Cockshott

The philosopher Althusser said that philosophy represents ideology – in particular religious ideology to science, and science to ideology. As science extended its field of explanation, a series of ’reprise’ operations were carried out by philosophers to either make the … Continue reading →

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The Philosophy of Science

Posted on 18/04/2013 by Gavin Mendel-Gleason

As we saw in Part I, scientific progress is used by the capitalist class as a tool for the expulsion of labour from the workforce by way of technological improvements, which enables them to increase profits. This fact was immortalised … Continue reading →

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Science and Socialism

Posted on 17/04/2013 by James O'Brien

“Soviets plus electrification,” proclaimed Lenin, “equals communism”. Even allowing for the simplifications inherent in sloganeering, Lenin’s quip does capture a version of the optimism, even faith, that his generation of socialists had in science and its essential compatibility with the socialist … Continue reading →

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Cutting the crap: epistemology, science, the left and you

Posted on 19/12/2012 by modulus

Science and the Left Once upon a time the relation between science and socialism was pretty direct and self-explanatory. Not in vain, Marxists call ourselves scientific socialists, when we can stop our unceasing and largely fruitless factional struggles, that is. … Continue reading →

Posted in Critique of the Left, Philosophy, Sci-tech | 12 Comments

Colonising Venus

Posted on 23/08/2012 by Gavin Mendel-Gleason

James: On the face of it colonising Venus appears ridiculous. With temperatures of over 500 degrees celsius and atmospheric pressure 90 times that of earth how is it even possible to get started on a colonisation mission? Gavin: All target … Continue reading →

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Rethinking Nuclear Power

Posted on 17/07/2012 by Gavin Mendel-Gleason

As we face the twin perils of an energy crisis arising from the ever increasing cost of oil extraction and the serious threat of climate change, nuclear power has again come back onto the agenda. When the Nuclear Age first … Continue reading →

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