Scientists, business, and the state, 1890-1960 / Patrick J. McGrath.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McGrath, Patrick J. (Patrick Joseph), 1961-

Series:

Luther Hartwell Hodges series on business, society, and the state

The Luther Hartwell Hodges series on business, society, and the state

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Science and state--United States--History--19th century.

Science and state.

Science and state--United States--History--20th century.

History.

United States.

Physical Description:

x, 248 pages ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

Chapel Hill : University of North Carolina Press, [2002]

Summary:

Beginning in the late nineteenth century and continuing into the 1960s, scientists allied themselves with America's corporate, political, and military elites. They did so not just to improve their professional standing and win more money for research, says Patrick McGrath, but for political reasons as well. They wanted to use their new institutional connections to effect a transformation of American political culture. They succeeded, but not in ways that all scientists envisioned or agreed upon.

McGrath describes how, between 1890 and 1960, scientific, business, and political leaders together forged a new definition of American democracy in which science and technology were presented to the public as crucial ingredients of the nation's progress, prosperity, and political stability. Scientists even argued that the very act of expert collaboration, whether in business or politics, offered a model of ways to solve social problems and achieve political stability

But as scientists became more prominent, they provoked conflicts among themselves as well as with their institutional patrons over exactly how their expertise should be used. McGrath examines the sharp and often bitter battles that erupted over the role scientists should play during the Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War arms race, and the security and loyalty investigations of the 1950s. He finds that, by the end of the 1950s, scientists were regarded by the political and military elite not as partners but as subordinate technicians who were expected to supply weapons on demand for the Cold War state.

Contents:

Science and the crises of the new corporate order

Scientific politics in the 1930s

The creation of state science

Making the case for a managerial democracy

The battles over scientific militarism in the Cold War state

The Oppenheimer case, Eisenhower, and the triumph of scientific militarism.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [227]-243) and index.

ISBN:

0807826553

OCLC:

46810779