Book contents
- The Politics of Chemistry
- Science in History
- The Politics of Chemistry
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Chronology
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Dreams of Modernity
- 2 A Republican Science
- 3 War Weapons
- 4 Totalitarian Ambitions
- 5 Autarchic Ambiguities
- 6 Technocratic Progress
- 7 Liberal Dissent
- Conclusion: The Moral Ambiguity of Chemistry
- Bibliography
- Index
6 - Technocratic Progress
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 August 2019
- The Politics of Chemistry
- Science in History
- The Politics of Chemistry
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Chronology
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Dreams of Modernity
- 2 A Republican Science
- 3 War Weapons
- 4 Totalitarian Ambitions
- 5 Autarchic Ambiguities
- 6 Technocratic Progress
- 7 Liberal Dissent
- Conclusion: The Moral Ambiguity of Chemistry
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Chapter 6 focuses on the 1960s internationalisation of the economy and the way in which, in the context of the Cold War, chemistry became a ‘neutral’ subject that contributed to the non-democratic modernisation of the country, again with major religious alliances. The chapter explores the apolitical, technocratic role of chemists and discusses how they undertook academic reforms and searched for international alliances in their own professional interests. It also situates a good part of that apolitical discourse in the context of the new international corporate chemical industry, which was established throughout the country from the early 1960s onwards. The technocratic educational reforms focused on the economic growth and industrial needs of ‘developmentalism’. Although in public they often enforced the neutral status of science, many chemists had no qualms about expressing their enthusiasm for the regime. Chemistry and technocracy can be approached, in particular, through the prominent role played by chemist Manuel Lora Tamayo as Franco’s minister, scientific expert and educational reformer.
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- The Politics of ChemistryScience and Power in Twentieth-Century Spain, pp. 163 - 188Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019