Risk and Culture : An Essay on the Selection of Technological and Environmental Dangers

Can we know the risks we face, now or in the future? No, we cannot; but yes, we must act as if we do. Some dangers are unknown; others are known, but not by us because no one person can know everything. Most people cannot be aware of most dangers at most times. Hence, no one can calculate precisely the total risk to be faced. How, then, do people decide which risks to take and which to ignore? On what basis are certain dangers guarded against and others relegated to secondary status? This book explores how we decide what risks to take and which to ignore, both as individuals and as a culture. With flair and scholarly acumen, British anthropologist Mary Douglas (Purity and Danger) and Berkeley political scientist Aaron Wildavsky (Speaking Truth to Power) apply the yardstick of cultural bias to American society - and attack scientific objectivity, in the bargain. What is it, they ask, that Americans fear? Why have we, above all other modern societies, fostered strong environmental groups, concerned with single issues (like the building of a nuclear-power plant next door), as well as with the technological threat to planetary survival? Their answers derive from cultural analysis of no Contents Acknowledgments Introduction: Can We Know The Risks We Face? I. Risks are Hidden II. Risks are Selected III. Scientists Disagree IV. Assessment is Biased V. The Center is Complacent VI. The Border is Alarmed VII. The Border Fears For Nature VIII. America Is A Border Country IX. The Dialogue is Political Conclusion: Risk is a Collective Construct Notes Index