The Poverty of Green Philosophy — A Marxist Case for Nuclear Energy in a Cooperative World 
Bill Sacks and Greg Meyerson, Open Universe, £22.25

IN this detailed study Sacks and Meyerson deliver a Marxist case for nuclear energy. They also undertake a critique of green philosophy; both its ecosocialist and ecomodernist (pro-capitalist) variants.  

Their argument centres on the failings of renewable energy. The authors are no climate deniers, they accept the existence of anthropogenic global warming (AGW); the process of man-made climate change since the Industrial Revolution.  

Sacks and Meyerson claim that although solar and wind power are free and in abundant supply, they are highly inefficient, resulting in a very low energy return on investment (EROI). Their study points to the high input of land required for both solar power and wind farms, combined with a low output.

They state that waste solar panels are highly polluting and that both forms of renewable energy lack the efficiency of nuclear power. The precious metals required for the production of solar panels would result in price rises for materials already needed for the production of consumer goods such as computers and mobile phones. Perhaps the crux of their argument is that nuclear fuel can be reused while uranium can be extracted from seawater; making its supply almost endless.

Strong nuclear force, the strongest force in the known universe, holds together the nuclei of atoms. If released through nuclear fission, it can produce enormous levels of energy, with a subsequently high EROI. Sacks and Meyerson attempt to reassure us about the safety of nuclear power plants and concerns over radiation. The accidents at Chernobyl in 1987 and Fukushima in 2011 were not the same as nuclear bomb blasts, but steam turbine explosions, while the corresponding damage done by radiation has been exaggerated.  

Meanwhile they remind us that radiation is emitted from numerous sources including rocks, various foodstuffs including bananas, as well as mobile phones, microwave ovens and building materials.

Sacks and Meyerson make a coherent case against the green left. They argue that an economy based entirely on renewables would result a net drop in energy use and a subsequent decline in economic growth and living standards.

As one would expect, they are highly critical of the small is beautiful argument put forward by the economist EF Schumacher. Schumacher favoured small-scale, handicraft industry over large-scale production; and claiming that capitalism had destroyed locally based handicraft industries. 

Central to this is the view that nuclear power, with its highly centralised power plants, is inherently capitalist; while renewables, which tend to be much more dispersed, are inherently socialist. The authors advocate control over the nuclear industry by a socialist state. In other words, socialism means scaling up, not scaling down.

It should be pointed out that renewables are still in their infancy compared to both nuclear and fossil fuels. The first wind farm in Britain opened in 1991, whereas the use of nuclear power dates back to the 1950s. Why not advocate greater research and development into renewables; with a view to using them alongside nuclear power?  

Meanwhile, with climate-denialism on the rise, a critique of it might be a good idea; however the book presents some excellent arguments about the failure of capitalism. Sacks and Meyerson’s argument is nonetheless a highly valuable contribution to the ongoing discussion around the obvious need to decarbonise energy production.