Academic Journal: Fukushima catastrophe becoming turning point in world history — “Its long-term impact and meaning are impossible to repress”
ENENews
Title: Thinking after Fukushima. Epistemic shift in social sciences
Source: Asia Europe Journal, Volume 11, Issue 1, pp 65-78
Author: Alain-Marc Rieu
Date: March 2013
The Fukushima catastrophe is a turning point in the conception, role and management of technology in industrial societies. As did Hiroshima (on another dimension) after 1945, the Fukushima nuclear accident questions and transforms established conceptions and values concerning the relations between technology, politics, industry, society and the environment. It has become impossible to think after Fukushima as we did before. This catastrophe initiates a major epistemic and conceptual shift with long-term consequences. [...]
More than a year after the catastrophe, the time has come to evaluate its historical meaning. Fukushirna is not a disaster like others. This is the reason why it is becoming a turning point in world history: relations between technology, politics, industry, society and ecology are forever transformed. Its long-term impact and meaning are impossible to repress: wherever they live, people will never see and understand nuclear energy and nuclear industry as they did before [...]
