Resumen de Introduction. The Potential for Catastrophe

Ron Kassimir

• The contributions in this section make clear that while certain forces of nature have the potential to become catastrophic, a disaster can only be fully achieved through the playing out of human choices, political processes, and social structures. The pursuit of wealth and power, the setting of public priorities, the design of political institutions, and tolerance for inequality and discrimination, these authors argue, shape both the extent to which a potential disaster is realized and the highly uneven distribution of vulnerability to nature=s destructive capacity. Yet, they also contend that, if human decisions and public policies greatly influence the extent and differential impact of disasters, some man-made elements can also be deployed to prevent disasters or mitigate their effects. The papers reflect on the current moment while taking a historical perspective on the politics of disasters and show how the choices, institutions, and policies that create and distribute vulnerability change over time. They all argue (some more explicitly than others) for changes in the way the US political system works and on whose behalf it works for. Major reforms are needed if we are to ever shake that déjà vu feeling when the forces of nature.