The Scientific Socialism of J. B. S. Haldane
J. B. S. Haldane was one of the 20th century’s great scientific minds. He was also a passionate socialist and a scourge of pseudo-scientific racism whose life gives us a fascinating case study on the relationship between science and politics.
Professor J. B. S. Haldane speaking in Trafalgar Square in London on January 17, 1937. (Harold Tomlin / Mirrorpix via Getty Images)
J. B. S. Haldane was one of the great scientific minds of the twentieth century and played an important role in the development of genetics. Haldane was also a tireless political campaigner who gravitated toward the British communist movement in the 1930s and ’40s. His public career makes for a fascinating case study on the relationship between politics and science.
Samanth Subramanian is an Indian journalist based in London. His book A Dominant Character: The Radical Science and Restless Politics of J. B. S. Haldane was published in 2019. This is an edited transcript from Jacobin Radio’s Long Reads podcast. You can listen to the interview here.
Daniel Finn
Before going into the details of his life, could you give people who might not be familiar with J. B. S. Haldane a brief summary of the position that he occupied in British public life during the middle part of the last century, and some of the contributions that he made to the development of science?
Samanth Subramanian
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