[Following two discussion articles by John O'Mahony (Socialist…]
Socialist Organiser1983 1983-03-10Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 12 →
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Following two discussion articles by John O'Mahony (Socialist Organiser nos. 118 and 119), we are offering space beyond our usua letters length to readers who wish to take up a debate on the question of the Protestants in the context of the struggle for a united SCIENCE Ireland You've probably gathered by now that I think. science shops are a good thing! If readers agree with me, the question arises of how can science shops be introduced into Britain. Possible approaches could include the following:
1) Get science shops incorporated into Labour Party science policy.
2) Get local authorities to fund expenmental science shops (e.g. the GLC).
3) Groups of socialist scientists might try to get colleges and universities to set up science shops. Socialist scientists have traditionally complained about the remoteness of science from the concerns of working people, but apart from things like the BSSRS Hazards Bulletin, little has been done to remedy this.
What would a science shop in, say, London, look like? Funded by a local authority, its running should be in the hands of groups of scientists and users (e.g. trades unions, women's groups, etc).
Facilities
The problem of getting scientists to do the research and of getting them the facilities to do it might be tackled by negotiation between the local authority, scientific trade unions, student unions and socialist scientists on the one hand, and polytechnics and universities on the other.
As you can see, I don't have all (or indeed, many) of the details worked out, so how about some feedback from readers.
LES HEARN