This scholarly work explores the causes precipitating the collapse of the nuclear industry during the late 1970s and early 1980s, viewing the nuclear energy sector as a paradigmatic example of the fundamental incompatibility between democracy and capitalism. Though he never explicitly blames either capitalism or democracy, author John L. Campbell explains how the fact that the two are governed by contradictory decision-making logics ultimately doomed the nuclear industry during the time period he examines. Campbell considers policy constraints and faliures in industry and government, such as a lack of standardization in reactor construction and the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission’s (AEC) inability to craft a reactor safety policy that [...]
