ABSTRACT
Walter N. Polakov identified his debt as a scholar to Marxist analysis in his research and writings. It is important to note that as well as a scientific manager and Marxist, there is no doubt that Polakov was also unrelentingly an engineer. This chapter explores the life and times of Polakov, and focuses on his involvement in the Taylor Society, while in the third part the nature and extent of Polakov’s socialism is surveyed and assessed in order to show that it was inextricably bound up in his scientific management. The Bulletins of the Taylor Society attest to the evolution of scientific management and the richness therein. A difficulty in much of the literature on scientific management is that analysts commonly begin with the assumption that the Taylorists held negative intent towards workers. Given that differential pay rates were central to the scientific managers, it is useful to note how Polakov, the socialist scientific manager, deals with this issue.
