this post was submitted on 27 Jul 2026
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[–] sorrybookbroke@sh.itjust.works 172 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (8 children)

Yeah I like the sentiment, but no Chernobyl absolutely did not have such a small effect. Minimizing these things, especially when so well known, just fucks up our position. Reality denial isn't an effective way to advocate or to make people aware of the horrors of capitalism. All it does is train the average person to assume left wing points are childishly exaggerated. This is, in part, why capitalist propaganda is so easy.

Here we just accept the official number and ignore all other effects. If we took the same path with the Bhopaal disaster, we'd have to ignore all the non-fatal poisonings and believe uncritically the official instant death count of just over 2,200 ignoring any deaths to come afterwards. That would be stupid

Chernobyl was a terrible disaster that harmed an absurd amount of people, de-homed thousands, and damaged the ecosystem of the wider area. Its effects and danger are still present to this day and could have been much, much worse if not for the work of those who fixed the massive fuck up.

Both the Bhopal disaster and the Chernobyl disaster were bred by incompetence, corruption, and a general failure to care for the worker and the general population.

Now, if we were to keep a leaderboard, capitalism wins by many miles in the awfulness department. That's the note we should take, that's the drum we should beat.

It wasn't socialism that caused Chernobyl. If the workers, those who built and conceived of the soviet nuclear reactors, were in charge they would have put in the safe guards they advocated for well before this disaster. They were not allowed to and the consequence was a meltdown. That's why we should give the power to the worker. The Bhopal disaster? Capital was the determiner for who had power, and those in power caused the disaster. It was the fault of capitalism as capitalism was allowed to build Union Carbide with little in its way.

Edit: Changed Russian to soviet, re-aranged paragraphs, added clarity

[–] wizzor@sopuli.xyz 9 points 17 hours ago

The chernobyl disaster also had the chance to be much, much worse than it was. The only reason it wasn't worse was the sacrifices of the people.

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 21 points 1 day ago

Critically, the working classes were in charge of Chernobyl. Their mistakes were mistakes made by workers. The worker is not infallible.

[–] AlteredEgo@lemmy.ml 8 points 1 day ago

https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/how-chernobyl-has-become-unexpected-haven-wildlife

The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone has become a haven for wildlife, with species such as lynx, bison, and deer thriving in the area due to the absence of human activity for over three decades. This has led to a richer forest ecosystem and increased biodiversity, making it one of the largest nature reserves in mainland Europe.

Also even if you take the most exaggerated numbers about Chernobyl and Fukushima combined, it's still just something we should just ignore. It was a small blip. Per megawatthour produced, nuclear energy is still by far the safest energy, safer than solar (because people fall off of roofs).

Instead you're not just resisting, you're actually angrily rebuking and scolding OP's attempt to put these two catastrophes into perspective. You apply a double standard to how factually accurate a shitpost has to be vs the global capitalist propaganda machine.

Capitalist propaganda is effective.

[–] SpruceBringsteen@lemmy.world 18 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Board representation for workers needs to be a universal rallying cry

[–] ShinkanTrain@lemmy.ml 20 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

EVERY WORKER A MEMBER OF THE BOARD!

[–] SpruceBringsteen@lemmy.world 12 points 1 day ago

Hey its the guy helping me find my gun

[–] Malyca@lemmy.zip 11 points 1 day ago

My dad had just gotten me a hamster and we fed it lettuce that was affected. Fuckers killed my hamster. I'm just glad I didn't eat it I guess. Poor little guy, I was heartbroken.

[–] eldavi@lemmy.ml 11 points 1 day ago (1 children)

If the workers, those who built and conceived of the soviet nuclear reactors, were in charge they would have put in the safe guards they advocated for well before this disaster. They were not allowed to and the consequence was a meltdown. That’s why we should give the power to the worker.

if this can't happen in a communist nation, what hope is there for any other worker?