Robert M. Young Online Writings
'Science is Social Relations'
Of all the essays I have written, this is one of the two or three which I most enjoyed writing. I know it is dated, but I stand by its main argument, one which I believe was influential in the development of the social constructivist way of seeing science and all other forms of expertise. Most social constructivists omit the radical science perspective which is integral to the argument; in fact, it came first. Whenever I ask myself where my basic approach can be found, the answer is here. Needless to say, it was satirised by the Old Left, in particular, by Steven and Hilary Rose. She continues to satirise it while trying to make a very belated and half-hearted alliance with feminist social constructivist critiques of science. The essay was first published in Radical Science Journal No. 5: 65-129, 1977.