The Effect of Ideology on Soviet Science

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the effect of ideology on Soviet science during the communist era of leadership and the negative ways in which it was manifested. The paper looks at some of the benefits that were provided by Soviet science, but then argues that Soviet science during the communist era was subverted to such an extent by the Communist Party that it became discredited in the eyes of most of the world.

From the Paper:

"In conclusion, the negative effect of Marxist-Leninist ideology on Soviet science was manifested in a variety of ways, from the systematic propagandizing of dialectic materialism as a science to the undermining of science itself in the form of theories such as Lysenkoism. Although Soviet science provided some benefits in the form of discoveries in the field of space medicine, the development of space exploration, and the use of nuclear power to generate electricity for Soviet towns and cities, science in the USSR during the communist era was subverted to such an extent by the government that it was reduced in most cases to pseudo-science and became an object of ridicule throughout most of the world."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Engels, Freidrich. "Theoretical." from Anti-Duhring. New York: W.W. Norton, 1978.
• Faria, Miguel. "The Perversion of Science and Medicine." JPANDS. Online. Available: http://www.jpands.org/hacienda/article7.html. 13 November 2006.
• Marx, Karl and Engels, Friedrich. The Communist Manifesto. New York: Signet, 1998.
• Pollock, Ethan. Stalin and the Soviet Science Wars. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006.
• Sheehan, Helena. "What Was Lysenkoism?" Excerpted from Marxism and the Philosophy of Science: A Critical History. London: Humanities Press International, 1993.

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