Resisting the discourse of modernity: Rationality versus emotion in hazardous waste siting

One community's resistance to the projected siting of a hazardous waste fac ility provides a case study of clashing discourse between modernity's champ ions and its sceptics. The events and outcomes of this case raise questions about the widespread assumption that science, reason and rationality are n ecessarily the bases for good decisions in society This study highlights th e contemporary citizen, deeply sceptical of the rational state and modern b usiness practice, and fearful that personal and communal identity will be t hreatened by forces over which local residents have no control. In this cas e, site developers and community members engaged in numerous rhetorical exc hanges. The developers conducted their side of the discourse according to t he tenets of reason and rationality The community, however; imposed emotion al interpretations on the situation, thus radically undermining the possibi lities of communicative rationality and challenging the tacit 'rules' of mo dern discourse. The public debate between the protagonists revealed emergen t themes of identity disruption, mistrust and polarization.