{"product_id":"totalitarian-science-and-technology-control-of-nature-9781573925525","title":"Totalitarian Science and Technology (Control of Nature)","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTotalitarian Science and Technology (Control of Nature)\u003c\/strong\u003e by Josephson, Paul R.. paperback edition. ISBN: 9781573925525.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eScience and technology in totalitarian regimes is readily associated with images of abusive doctors in concentration camps or dictators controlling genetic resources. But are these cases representative of what constitutes science in totalitarian regimes, or are they anomalies? Based on a synthesis and reinterpretation of recent work, this book presents a balanced view of science in Nazi Germany and Stalins USSR by examining how politics and culture shaped their science and technology.\nJosephson argues that a transformational vision was central to science in these regimes, distinguishing their research from that done under other political systems. In the Soviet Union, biology was to be used to revolutionize agriculture, create a \"New Soviet Man,\" even to tame nature within one generation. In the Third Reich, biology was to secure agriculture self-sufficiency as well as create a nation of pure Aryan gods.\nThe reception of relativity theory and quantum mechanics suggests that the idealization of science resulted in extrascientific forces coming into play to determine what was \"good\" and what was \"bad\" science, eventually leading to the ostracism of physicists who embraced the new physics. In both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, scientists lost their jobs, were arrested, even killed for their scientific beliefs.\nIn the field of technology, Josephson investigates the role of the state as the prime mover in technological development and the aesthetic of gigantomania acquired by large-scale technologies in totalitarian states: gigantic structures reflecting the efforts of officials to publicly demonstrate the strength, glory, and legitimacy of the regime.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Brand: Humanity Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45212690939957,"sku":"ByrdShop_1573925527","price":319.33,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9781573925525_4944e727-391c-4d4b-8dcc-eeffd9b02ef0.jpg?v=1779905300","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/totalitarian-science-and-technology-control-of-nature-9781573925525","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}