Nuclear Power and Social Power

Eckstein, Rick

ISBN 10: 1566394864 / ISBN 13: 9781566394864

Published by Temple Univ Press, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A., 1997

About this Item

Notations to less than 20% of pgs. Two pg corners are lightly dog-eared. Spine is tight. Good, sturdy copy. "We often think of 'progress' and 'economic growth' as natural developments that benefit all members of society. "Nuclear Power and Social Power" challenges this view and instead suggests that specific definitions of progress and economic growth can be molded by powerful individuals, organizations, and classes. These definitions, and their manifestation in social policy, often serve narrow parochial interests rather than the common good. Such inequities of social power, hiding behind the semantic facade of 'progress' and 'economic growth,' threaten the existence of democratic communities and societies.In "Nuclear Power and Social Power", Rick Eckstein helps us understand this perspective of social power by examining the civilian nuclear power industry in the United States. More specifically, he compares the Shoreham reactor in New York and the Seabrook reactor in New Hampshire, which faced similar financial and public oppositions yet met very different fates. The $5.5 billion Shoreham plant was the first completed and licensed reactor in the United States never to operate commercially. Seabrook, costing about the same, managed to open even though its primary owner went bankrupt. Despite the differences, the cast of winners and losers was very much the same. In both cases, banks and other powerful corporations won while regular folks and small businesses lost amid a barrage of egalitarian discourse about progress and growth.". Seller Inventory # 023606

Bibliographic Details

Title: Nuclear Power and Social Power

Publisher: Temple Univ Press, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.

Publication Date: 1997

Binding: Soft cover

Condition: Good+

Book Type: Book

About this title

Synopsis:

We often think of 'progress' and 'economic growth' as natural developments that benefit various members of society. This title challenges this view and instead suggests that specific definitions of progress and economic growth can be molded by powerful individuals, organizations, and classes.

From the Publisher:

A critical examination of the Shoreham and Seabrook nuclear power plants and the way expensive corporate initiatives purported as good for social "progress" or "economic growth" actually serve the parochial interests of powerful organizations and classes