On 10/8/06, Jim Devine <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Yoshie:
> Well, you are a boomer. By the time you came of age, optimistic faith
> in industrialization had already faded among leftists.
the point is that this fading occurred before Chernobyl.
True, but Chernobyl is a symbol as well as the last nail in the coffin
of industrialism at no matter what cost: the worst nuclear power plant
disaster happened in a socialist state, not a capitalist state, so
even the still remaining pro-Soviet socialists had to reevaluate the
claim that socialism could necessarily manage technology better than
capitalism.
In 1978 or 1979 (when was it Michael?), I had a conversation with some
Cubans in Havana about the building of nukes there. I pointed out the
shoddiness of Soviet-made products. They said: well, Soviet _military_
technology is pretty good. Yeah, right.
Well, if you ever find yourself in a guerrilla army at odds with
Washington, it's either Russian or Chinese weapons on which your life
will depend. Which is better?
--
Yoshie
<http://montages.blogspot.com/>
<http://mrzine.org>
<http://monthlyreview.org/>
