Nuclearism
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Nuclearism is the political philosophy or ideology that nuclear weapons are the best way of maintaining peace. An incisive exposition and cultural-environmental critique of this ideology is found in Piyush Mathur's article "Nuclearism: The Contours of a Political Ecology" published in the American journal Social Text (Spring 2001). The key elements of nuclearism, though not listed as such by Mathur, are:
- The belief that nuclear weapons keep the peace, and are a necessary evil.
- The belief that nuclear power is a safe, reliable and inexpensive source of energy, and that the nuclear power industry is an absolute good.
- The belief that, despite the expansion of the nuclear power industry, the diversion of nuclear materials from the nuclear fuel cycle to military uses can be prevented.
Nuclearism is generally looked at from the point of view of criticism; proponents of nuclearism usually do not defend it as such, but rather as an inevitable expression of realism given the technological development of nuclear weapons.
Criticism of nuclearism has been a contentious issue among political activists because of divisions as to the appropriate methodology to combat it. Some critics, like William Chaloupka, advocate a "nuclear criticism" movement based on deconstructionist principles expounded by Jacques Derrida. Others, such as James Der Derian, advocate direct political action in favor of the complete elimination of nuclear weapons.
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