RISK AND RECREANCY - WEBER, THE DIVISION-OF-LABOR, AND THE RATIONALITY OF RISK PERCEPTIONS

To date, most analyses of risk perceptions have focused on the characteristics of individual perceivers, but given the societal changes that have occurred since the early days of the industrial revolution, there is need for greater attention to the institutions that are responsible for risk management. Risks of death have been dropping significantly for more than a century, but during that time, there has been a dramatic growth of societal interdependence and hence of the potential for recreancy - the failure of institutional actors to carry out their responsibilities with the degree of vigor necessary to merit the societal trust they enjoy. In the case of facilities for handling nuclear waste, analyses of survey data find that the recreancy perspective explains roughly three times as much variance in levels of concern as do sociodemographic and ideological variables combined. The recreancy concept may also have significant applicability in other contexts involving the potentially problematic performance of specialized responsibilities.