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15 March 2002
"Many claim that 11 September 'changed the world forever', particularly impacting on public perceptions of risk and creating a sense that we live in an ever-more risky world. But it is wrong to blame today's culture of fear on the collapse of the World Trade Centre. Long before 11 September, public panics were widespread . . . "
" . . . perceptions of risk, ideas about safety and controversies over health, the environment and technology have little to do with science or empirical evidence. Rather, they are shaped by cultural assumptions about human vulnerability. . . . differential responses were culturally informed. . . . culture has become even more uncomfortable with managing change and dealing with risks."
"The balance has shifted even more in favour of emotionalism, suspicion and blame . . . they intuitively grasp that when it comes to public debate the power of emotion triumphs over the cold facts of science . . . "
" . . . the politics of risk is based on a useful distinction between health risk and liability risk. Regardless of . . . a health risk, cultural mistrust of new technology could still turn [new technology] into a liability risk. . . . 'the mere possibility of exposure is threat enough to produce fear, and fear leads to illness' . . . "
"Society's difficulty with managing risk is driven by a culture of safety that sees vulnerability as our defining condition. . . . Safety has become one of Western society's fundamental values, and people find it difficult to accept that some injuries cannot be prevented. An injury caused by an accident is an affront to a culture that believes safety is its own reward. . . . The idea that we should be immunised against accidents is reaching pathological proportions. . . . a culture that is uncomfortable with misfortune."
"The 'What if…?' question dominates today . . . The preoccupation with 'thinking outside the box' continually leads to the 'What if…?' question. . . . "
"Since 11 September, speculating about risk is represented as sound risk management. The aftermath of 11 September has given legitimacy to the principle of precaution, with risk increasingly seen as something you suffer from, rather than something you manage. Of course, taking sensible precautions makes a lot of sense. But continually imagining the worst possible outcome is not an effective way to deal with problems. Allowing speculation to dominate how we think about risks may even distract us from tackling the everyday problems and hazards that confront society." ... [more]
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