From: utzoo!decvax!duke!unc!bts
Newsgroups: net.politics
Title: Marxist Computer Science
Article-I.D.: unc.4719
Posted: Sat Feb 26 16:23:19 1983
Received: Sun Feb 27 02:32:27 1983


     I spent several hours last weekend looking through some
of  the  more  obscure  science  journals in our (UNC-Chapel
Hill) main  library's  periodicals.   In  a  corner  of  the
stacks, I found a whole shelf of what seemed to be magazines
on Marxist physical science.  In case you've never seen such
things,  they  were full of articles on how Marxism helps to
explain physics or chemistry or other  sciences.  (My  first
impression was Creationism without the King James Version.)

     I was a little nervous about standing there looking  at
such  things,  but I did notice that there was no mention of
computer science.  I know it's debatable whether or  not  we
are  a science (or ought to be or even could be), and I know
that very few programmers were around  during  Marx's  life-
time.  Still, I was a little surprised to be left out.

     Does anyone out there in net-land know if there is such
a  thing as "Marxist Computer Science"?  If there is, what's
it all about?  If not, why is that?  Everyone wants  to  get
into computers, surely Marxists are no exception.  Can it be
that computer scientists are too logical for Marxism, or too
greedy?   If Marxist computer science does exist, should the
non-Marxists among us worry?  I'd be  interested  in  seeing
facts, opinions or flames-- pretty much in that order.

			Bruce Smith, UNC-CH
			duke!unc!bts