Radiation and Revolution

Thought in the Act

by Sabu Kohso

In Radiation and Revolution political theorist and anticapitalist activist Sabu Kohso uses the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster to illuminate the relationship between nuclear power, capitalism, and the nation-state. Combining an activist's commitment to changing the world with a theorist's determination to grasp the world in its complexity, Kohso outlines how the disaster is not just a pivotal event in postwar Japan; it represents the epitome of the capitalist-state mode of development that continues to devastate the planet's environment. Throughout, he captures the lived experiences of the disaster's victims, shows how the Japanese government's insistence on nuclear power embodies the constitution of its regime under the influence of US global strategy, and considers the future of a radioactive planet driven by nuclearized capitalism. As Kohso demonstrates, nuclear power is not a mere source of energy—it has become the organizing principle of the global order and the most effective way to simultaneously accumulate profit and govern the populace. For those who aspire to a world free from domination by capitalist nation-states, Kohso argues, the abolition of nuclear energy and weaponry is imperative.

Genres: Politics, Ecology, Nonfiction

216 pages, Paperback

Published October 2, 2020

Reviews

[Kai · Rating 5 out of 5]

i found Sabu Kohso's work as one of the presumed authors of the Japan dispatches in Liaison's books. some of the same arguments are here, though presented in expanded form. essentially, Kohso is working at that sort of insurrectionary intersection (i.e., tiqqun) of post 68 french thought (deleuze, foucault) with the afterlives of heidegger (i.e., agamben). though everyone is a communist these days (here, "apocalyptic communism"), it is still much more influenced by anarchist tendencies. but Kohso is also doing some more creative stuff here, some inflections that emerge from and critique the japanese context of nation building and revolutionary struggle.

an introduction and four chapters make up the backbone of the book, and three of them are really quite compelling. "disaster/catastrophe/apocalypse" considers fukushima as an index of broader developments in the capitalist world system. "Transmutation of Powers" examines the variety of social struggles that emerged in the wake of the fukushima disaster, how they had some different orientations that ultimately led to their supercession. "Catastrophic Nation" considers the deeper history of post-war japanese nation building, how nuclear power became this sort of quilting point for remaking a cohesive national identity and economy. finally, "Climate change of the struggle" re-examines the New Left in japan post 68, and what lessons can be gleaned from the movement today. though i don't always agree with Kohso's analysis and position, which veers a bit too close to romanticization of the molecular revolution and the fragmented politics of what he calls "existential struggles" (i.e. 'new social movements' or the kind of 'many worlds' position). nonetheless, the details of the variety of struggles in japan are truly fascinating and dare i say critical to read in the west. i also think that japan, as an imperial power in its own right, and variously 'westernized', is crucial to think with 'in' the west, where it is sometimes reductively thought that everyone outside of euro/america is a beautiful soul. the third and shortest chapter, "apocalyptic capitalism," tries to make the case that nuclear power evidences the main structure of capital accumulation. but it is slipshod and not rigorous. the chapter won't convince socialist nuclear power advocates, for instance, and it also makes some surprisingly naive and liberal arguments (for instance, the critique that electric power monopolies are the problem, and that consumers don't have the 'choice' to get their power from other sources). ultimately the chapter isn't devastating for the broader argument of the book, it just sort of evinces the weakness of this kind of insurrectionary position in its critique of capital (and the role of labor therein), where otherwise it is adept at thinking the state, nation, and political struggle.

[Burc · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fact that this book is not more widely read or cited frustrates me. I'd wager to say people are put off either by the over theoretical tone of the book and/or Westerners just prefer reading about themselves?

This book is an account of nuclear disaster in Japan. As such the book is a critique of the political economy of disaster form Marxist and anarchist perspectives, weighing between the two although the anarchism definitely comes on top.

Disaster in the book is conceptualized through a philosophy of the "event" repeated from Hiroshima/Nagasaki to Fukisihma. We get very insightful accounts of nation states, capitalism and catastrophe all through an account of the particular political economy of nuclear disaster.

Definitely one of the best books I've read this year!

[melancholinary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging in terms of navigating the post-Fukushima reality. It offers a rather anarchist solution to the nuclear problem. Some throwback to the Japanese radical movement in 68 is fascinating (Adachi rocks!), especially how it relates to the anti-nuclear movement in contemporary Japan. Would be great if there is a theoretical analysis of nuclear energy from the intersection between nuclear physics and political economy in Japan, considering that American nuclear physicists involved in the making of Daiichi and ignored the geophysical condition of northeastern Japan and Ring of Fire (e.g. the seawall was only 5 metres, etc).