This analysis of the relationship between science and totalitarian rule in one of the most technically advanced countries in the East bloc examines professional autonomy under dictatorship and the place of technology in Communist ideology.
The German abandonment of nuclear power represents one of the most successful popular revolts against technocratic thinking in modern times―the triumph of a dynamic social movement, encompassing a broad swath of West Germans as well as East German dissident circles, over political, economic, and scientific elites. Taking on Technocracy gives a brisk account of this dramatic historical moment, showing how the popularization of scientific knowledge fostered new understandings of technological risk. Combining analyses of social history, popular culture, social movement theory, and histories of science and technology, it offers a compelling narrative of a key episode in the recent history of popular resistance.
In the period 1890-1914, the business elite in Germany turned their economy into the most dynamic in Europe. This study combines quantitative data on the 502 wealthiest businessmen of the time with material from public and private papers and 200 autobiographies.