Does the Concept of Loss Orient Risk
Prevention Policy?
Dominique Pecaud
Abstract This chapter examines the concept of loss and damage and how they are
used in a political and moral context. It takes as a starting point the nuclear accident
of Fukushima Daiichi and the short, medium and long-term consequences for the
human and non-human environment. It also identifies some potential elements for
the transformation of the disaster into a catastrophe, and how we can develop
different forms and scales of resilience.
Keywords Loss Á Damage Á Market Á Gift Á Catastrophe Á Resilience
1 Introduction
The French word dommage (damage) has several translations into English. Two are
of particular interest: first, it is the partial or total physical destruction of a living
being (ranging from physical injury to death) or an object, due to an accident;
second, it represents loss, as in the expression “it’s a pity” or “what a pity”.
This polysemy makes it difficult to create an empirical concept in the sense of a
class of objects that can be characterized by the elements that compose it. But why
even try? Because a deeper understanding of the anthropological meaning of
damage can help to identify social dynamics that receive little attention in classical
risk prevention studies [1]. In practice, the word appears to designate both the
consequences of a disaster, and the losses suffered by humans and non-humans
which are serious enough for it to be asserted that the disaster must not happen
again. In this case, taking damage and its dynamics into account can help to go
beyond the simple issue of loss.
D. Pecaud
Université de Nantes, Nantes, France
D. Pecaud (&)
Centre for Research on Risks and Crises (CRC), MINES ParisTech/PSL Research University,
Paris, France
e-mail: dominique.pecaud@univ-nantes.fr
© The Author(s) 2017
J. Ahn et al. (eds.), Resilience: A New Paradigm of Nuclear Safety,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-58768-4_2
21
Prevention Policy?
Dominique Pecaud
Abstract This chapter examines the concept of loss and damage and how they are
used in a political and moral context. It takes as a starting point the nuclear accident
of Fukushima Daiichi and the short, medium and long-term consequences for the
human and non-human environment. It also identifies some potential elements for
the transformation of the disaster into a catastrophe, and how we can develop
different forms and scales of resilience.
Keywords Loss Á Damage Á Market Á Gift Á Catastrophe Á Resilience
1 Introduction
The French word dommage (damage) has several translations into English. Two are
of particular interest: first, it is the partial or total physical destruction of a living
being (ranging from physical injury to death) or an object, due to an accident;
second, it represents loss, as in the expression “it’s a pity” or “what a pity”.
This polysemy makes it difficult to create an empirical concept in the sense of a
class of objects that can be characterized by the elements that compose it. But why
even try? Because a deeper understanding of the anthropological meaning of
damage can help to identify social dynamics that receive little attention in classical
risk prevention studies [1]. In practice, the word appears to designate both the
consequences of a disaster, and the losses suffered by humans and non-humans
which are serious enough for it to be asserted that the disaster must not happen
again. In this case, taking damage and its dynamics into account can help to go
beyond the simple issue of loss.
D. Pecaud
Université de Nantes, Nantes, France
D. Pecaud (&)
Centre for Research on Risks and Crises (CRC), MINES ParisTech/PSL Research University,
Paris, France
e-mail: dominique.pecaud@univ-nantes.fr
© The Author(s) 2017
J. Ahn et al. (eds.), Resilience: A New Paradigm of Nuclear Safety,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-58768-4_2
21