By Ian Welsh
Through the nuclear heyday of the post-war years advocates of atomic energy promised affordable electrical energy and a wealthy destiny. From the current, even if, this promise turns out tarnished by means of injuries, leaks and a scarcity of public self belief. Mobilising Modernity lines this trip from self belief in expertise to the anxieties of the danger Society wondering a few traditional wisdoms en direction. Paying shut consciousness to social, political and coverage facets all through, this ebook considers:* the nuclear second from worldwide collaborative venture at Los Alamos to fragmented, bitterly competing initiatives* the 'atomic technological know-how movement's' use of symbolic assets to win nationwide ascendancy* the results of secrecy and the institution of quasi-commercial corporations in the nuclear industry.This interesting research additionally argues for the continuing value of the non-violent direct motion teams that flourished in the course of the Seventies, exhibiting their carrying on with effect on brand new new social pursuits. Welsh concludes through contemplating the results of this traditionally established account for modern problems with probability and belief on present policy-making.
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Extra resources for Mobilising Modernity: The Nuclear Moment (International Library of Sociology)
Example text
Second, risks which are not acknowledged anywhere within the prevailing regulatory structure are simply not considered. From the nuclear moment on the concentration on goal orientated science produced a distribution of both basic and applied knowledge acquisition with a very particular anatomy. The political and scientific emphasis on control and domination within discrete spheres of activity resulted in the neglect of synergistic effects, an area where Beck is particularly convincing. As scientific and technical development led into domains where empirical methods could not be applied, such as in the assessment of nuclear reactor safety, reliance on computer modelling and systems analysis increased.
General Groves imposed a strict separation between units of this diverse scientific workforce with information being shared purely on a need to know basis. 2 The separation imposed on working groups was in part inspired by concerns over security given the mixed nationalities present within the project. 3 The attempt to keep ‘the secret’ from one of the biggest concentrations of gifted scientists was, unsurprisingly, a failure. As a nodal event, however, the Manhattan project was a scientific paradise.
5 These specific examples illustrate the general point made, by Margaret Gowing (1978), that in certain respects the official response to this preeminent scientific breakthrough resembled the practice of magic among the most primitive tribes. Having in their possession a fearful image of the god of war, which makes them stronger than all their enemies, the tribe is obsessed with the fear that the image may be stolen or duplicated and their extensive claim to the deity’s favour lost. (Gowing 1978) In August 1945 atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.