Science, Technology, and Ecopolitics in the USSR

by Miron Rezun

Overview

Although enormous industrial advances were made in the USSR, the country still lagged behind the West in the post-industrial age. What the Soviets could not build or manufacture, they had to get from the West. The final outcome was a culture developed in which there was no regard for consumerism and no respect for the environment. The author traces the development of the Soviet malaise, but warns that a future authoritarian regime could still revive the technological race. Conversely, he also replies to the academic debate on the excesses of modern technology in the West, with a sharp criticism of feminist and post-modernist perspectives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780275953836
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	01/19/1996
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.56(d)
Lexile:	1400L (what's this?)

About the Author

MIRON REZUN is a Professor of Political Science at the University of New Brunswick. He has published widely on Soviet, Mideastern, and East European affairs, and has recently completed Europe and War in the Balkans (Praeger, 1995), detailing the many perspectives of the war in the former Yugoslavia.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments
The Importance of Science and Technology in Soviet Society
Cloak and Dagger
The Politics of Computers
Strategic Minerals and Energy
Space Technology: Was it Really a Success Story?
The Economic Fallout
The Ecological Fallout
Epilogue: Utopias and Anti-Utopias in Postmodernist Times
Glossary
Selected Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Rezun (political science, U. of New Brunswick) argues that the Soviet Union's extensive scientific establishment--while making great progress in some areas of technology and research--was a total failure. He examines the Soviet scientific and technological structures, the covert world of espionage, computer technology, resource management, space technology, and the economic and ecological fallout which resulted in dangerous consequences for the country and its citizens. The epilogue points to similar problems caused by science and technology in the West, and the pro- and anti-technology debates being conducted among scholars. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews