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International Socialism, Winter 1963/4

 

Hilary Rose

Titled Sterility

 

From International Socialism, No.15, Winter 1963/4, p.40.
Transcribed & marked up by Einde O’Callaghan for ETOL.

 

Science, Industry and Social Policy
Kenneth Denbigh
Oliver and Boyd; 16s.

Sheltering behind an impressive title, lies a slim volume of rather less than a hundred pages, which describes the malaise of industrial society: that work lacks meaning, that social decisions are made for economic reasons; and arguing that we are at a time of change, sets out a few guidelines for the future. These consist of a desire for the rational control of science, a wish to see the activities of the civic trust extended and a hope that through such means society will increasingly fulfil the needs of the whole man. By this time one is aware, even if the author is not, that he has tripped over a major philosophical and political problem which cannot be resolved by nostrums and good intentions, in lieu of a critique and a locating of the head of steam, the dynamic of social change. It is relevant to note that the book also has the achievement of discussing this subject without mentioning Marx, but it is a pretty sterile achievement.

 
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