Science for the People

Science for the People is a science-activist organization dedicated to building a radical political movement in science and society. Membership in SftP is defined by actively participating in national work or local chapters. SftP members use bottom-up strategies to build a science-activist organization that:

• Opposes all forms of oppression, exploitation and marginalization, while recognizing the role of science in these conditions, and the responsibility of science in liberatory struggles against all of these conditions
• Builds parity within the organization for marginalized, oppressed, and exploited peoples
• Works to organize labor in the scientific workforce
• Conducts radical, politically and scientifically informed investigation into problems of science and society
• Promotes positive instances of the use of scientific and technical expertise, providing scientists with knowledge and opportunities to use their specific training in accordance with SftP principles
• Resists the use of science for exploitation, oppression, capitalism, imperialism, war, and environmental destruction
• Struggles for system change to address the root causes of social, economic, and ecological problems
• Affirms a deep respect for all life in the motivation for and practice of science
• Opposes the assumption that humans have the right to exert violence upon, exploit, and control other humans, non-human animals, and nature
• Recognizes scientific knowledge outside of establishment institutions
• Recognizes, supports, and encourages the role of scientific knowledge and scientific investigation in building equitable futures, increasing understandings of our world, and guiding public policy
• Fights the corruption of science by systems of power and builds democratic forms to expand access to scientific tools and knowledge

The original Science for the People arose in 1969 out of the anti-war movement and lasted until 1989. With radical analysis and non-hierarchical governing structure, Science for the People took on the militarization of scientific research, the corporate control of research agendas, the political implications of sociobiology and other scientific theories, the environmental consequences of energy policy, inequalities in health care, and many other issues. Its members opposed racism, sexism, and classism in science and above all sought to mobilize people working in scientific fields to become active in agitating for science, technology, and medicine that would serve social needs rather than military and corporate interests. They organized in universities and communities, published a magazine offering sharp political analysis, and sought meaningful scientific exchange internationally in Vietnam, China, Cuba, Nicaragua, and other countries.

Some of the issues we face today have changed in important ways, but fundamental questions of power, ideology, and democracy in science remain. Since 2015, SftP veterans have collaborated with a new generation of SftP members to explore the history of radical science and to rebuild the publication and movement for today. We are rebuilding Science for the People to organize scientists, activists, students, and scholars to face these issues head-on in research institutions, universities, and communities. We are creating a new Science for the People publication to promote analysis from radical and progressive scientists, to cover the issues facing science and society, and to help build out our movement from the bottom up. With your support, we can grow a scientist-activist network and publish the analysis of the thinkers and leaders in our movement.