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> And ultimately, I am skeptical about the popular framing that this was a "could only happen to Soviets" disaster. No doubt that callousness towards humanity
by jressey 7y ago
> And ultimately, I am skeptical about the popular framing that this was a "could only happen to Soviets" disaster.
No doubt that callousness towards humanity abounds throughout the world, and of course in the US and the rest of the west. Soviet/Russian socioeconomics are so fascinating because they are a superpower on a budget. Callousness + shoddiness + scale, in my eyes, make this disaster uniquely Soviet. While your examples show profound inhumanity, their scale pales compared to Chernobyl.
- duncanawoods 7y agoI agree the clean-up is stunning in scale but in terms of the causes then I only see a regularly repeating pattern. The China Syndrome maps out quite nicely how it would happen in a commercial reactor i.e. pressure to not report problems leading to falsifying safety reports leading to potential critical situations. Commercial companies often have existential pressure to cut costs to meet goals leading to safety violations and it happens all the time PG&E, South West, PCA... it's an endless list.