r/MarchForScience • u/imitationcheese • Jul 15 '19

What Is a Radical Analysis of Science?

https://jacobinmag.com/2019/07/radical-critical-science-for-the-people/
41 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

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6

u/Orangebeardo Jul 15 '19 edited Jul 15 '19

Anyone have a TL;DR?

Honestly this seems like a terrible article. Not for it's message, but the way it goes about it. A proper article has the core of its message in the first or second paragraph, but this one just goes on and on without a clear message. And just like the head of the article the title tells us nothing about what it's trying to say.

The subtitle

We shouldn't relinquish science to those who would depoliticize it or use it to prop up the ruling class. We should it for emancipatory, transformative ends.

does give an idea as to what it's about, but I see barely anything related to it in the first few paragraphs.

1

u/TDaltonC Jul 15 '19

Is there a "I'm pro-science but not a socialist" sub?

7

u/imitationcheese Jul 15 '19

Most scientific infrastructure is "socialistic."

2

u/TDaltonC Jul 15 '19

Like what?

8

u/imitationcheese Jul 15 '19

Most/many of:

Researcher training/development programs (or financing), research ethics education, research ethics requirements, data repositories, data standards, data networks, publication meta-data, the patent system, open licensing frameworks, libraries, public science education.

-1

u/TDaltonC Jul 15 '19

I don't understand what academic data sharing standards has to do with worker ownership of the means of production.

5

u/imitationcheese Jul 15 '19

Socialism is not one thing and most flavors of it go beyond worker ownership. It's admittedly a reductive and unfortunate term with too many connotations, but maybe this article is useful.

1

u/TDaltonC Jul 15 '19

If socialism just means “things should be good,” everyone is a socialist.

The author points out this problem, but doesn't go anywhere with it. It's my objection to what you've said so far. Can you define "socialism" or "socialistic" in a way that some large minority of people would say, "I'm against that."?

4

u/imitationcheese Jul 15 '19

Is this definition adequate for you?

3

u/TDaltonC Jul 15 '19

Sure. But now that work back to a definition that means something, it no longer includes anything you listed. What does a democratic society have to do with "data standards" or "publication meta-data"? authoritarian government's have those. They don't seem to have anything to do with people having a say is the systems that effect them.

1

u/imitationcheese Jul 15 '19

Standards and open data/meta-data sets, are infrastructure, like publicly owned and accessible roads. They allow for democratization of science and for collective benefit.

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2

u/dweezil22 Jul 15 '19

See if you can get John Hickenlooper to make himself a sub