A challenge to nuclear power requires an assault upon the basic corporate priorities that undergird the entire economy. However, one suspects that many participants in the growing antinuclear movement, including some who consider themselves to be the most militant, have not faced up to the truly radical implications of shutting down this life-threatening industry.

To be sure, some have begun to confront the economic and social issues at stake. Barry Commoner’s two-part series in the New Y orker showed how a shift to solar energy would require structural changes in the way energy decisions are made in this country. Charles Komanoffs analysis in th...