Democracy and Disaster: The Crisis of (Meta) Planning in America

Abstract

In this essay we examine the connection between a crisis in the American political economy and the recurrence of industrial crisis which imperil the health, safety and welfare of Americans and others affected by U.S.-based in dustrial operations. The crisis of the political economy (manifested by uneven growth rates, polarization, voter cynicism and other indicators) arises from the need for increased coordination and planning of economic and industrial ac tivity. This planning threatens elite control and undermines the ideology of laissez faire economics which legitimates the prevailing order. Weak planning and an unstable political consensus are natural results of this contradiction. A system which we call metaplanning (planning without planning) has evolved in response to this impasse. The early sections of the paper deal with the imple mentation of new industrial policies which are the core of metaplanning, dem onstrating how these policies simultaneously enhance systemic capacities for coordination while reassuring the public that the traditional American aver sion to strong government is being upheld. The implication of metaplanning for industrial crises are examined in a final section. We argue that metaplan ning facilitates private investment in profit rather than safety, early commer cialization of new technologies which shifts risks onto the public, and distorts democratic processes and goals in the public management of industrial hazards.