Dr. Max Steenbeck is the chairman of
the Scientific Research Council of the Ger-
man Democratic Republic. He is also prom-
inent in public affairs.in the GDR, for ex-.
ample in the struggle for European Secur-
ity. The text below is a section of a lecture
on energy printed in the GDR newsweekly
Die Weltbuehne. It was translated by Leon-
ard Herman and Margrit Pittman.

By Max Steenbeck

g toes is almost no other technologi-
cal enterprise as tightly interwov-
en with social development as the pro-
duction of electricity. This is no different
today than it was in Lenin’s time with
the GOELRO state plan for electrical
energy.

Because of their enormity and durabil-
ity, power stations must be built for long
range use, and therefore require a clear
concept about the direction and speed of
social growth beyond the area of one’s
own economy.

About 90% of the electro-energy pro-
‘duced this year is used by the industrial
countries. That means that only 10% is
available for about 70% of the world’s pop-
ulation, and even there great disparities
exist. In order for less developed nations
to become genuine partners with the high-

~ ly industrialized countries — a necessity

for a world without war and an important |

central goal of our socialist policy — it
is crucial that this lopsided relationship
be altered.

Partnership means cooperation for
mutual advantage and therefore also im-
plies mutual dependence. To be sure, this
development contradicts the antiquated
class structure of the imperialist powers
and elevates their crisis. They are now
artificially whipping up an ‘‘energy cri-

+

sis.’’ In 1972 two-thirds of the increase
in the world’s oil production came from
the countries of the Middle East. But if
these countries want to share in their rich

_natural resources, and are now able to

insist on this, this does not constitute an
energy crisis, which does not exist now
and which does not have to develop in the
future. Peaceful collaboration for mutual
advantage does require that priorities be
established on the basis of social needs,
not profit interests. There are many in-
structive examples of this_in the realm of
international energy policy.

For the economic improvement of
many areas of Africa and the Middle East.
the exploitation of water power to pro-
duce electricity is of immediate urgency.
Irrigation made possible by dams makes
available large areas for agricultural and
industrial usage. These countries could
not carry through such large projects
with their own resources; but support by
the large industrial states shows very
different goals projected by the socialist
and capitalist participants.

For Egypt’s future the construction
of the Aswan dam was a question of life
and death. The project cost was $600 mil-
lion as compared with an annual state
budget of $200 million with an investment
fund of only $40 million. A credit prom-

ised by the World Bank was withdrawn ©

because Egypt could not fulfill certain
U.S. economic demands without curtail-
ing her independence.

The project was then carried through
with Soviet help and without onerous con-
ditions. It resulted in new employment
and livelihood for more than 15 million
people, and the effect of the training that
resulted from the Soviet-Egyptian cooper-
ation will be felt for a long time to come.
I would also like to mention two import-
ant facts: every three weeks of warfare

in Vietnam cost the United States more
than the cost of the entire Aswan dam
in purely financial terms. Furthermore,
the dam required installation of 22-yard-
deep granite blocks to protect it from
bombs because the masses of water re-
leased by the destruction of the dam
would literally bury all of Egypt under a
flood of mud. So where do the actual dang-
ers for the future of mankind lie?

Similarly, though not as dramatically,
the Euphrates dam (in Syria) was also
built with decisive Soviet aid. It also
created new and dignified living condi-
tions for many of the inhabitants and
serves the development of a genuine part-
nership among peoples.

@

Quite different are the goals surround-
ing the building of the Cabora-Bassa dam.
This only technically similar project on
the Zambezi river in Mozambique—which
is still under the colonial rule of Portugal
— is supposed to make possible the immi-
gration of a million white people through
electrification and irrigation, and thus
create a ‘‘white belt’’ across Africa. So
far the apartheid regime in South Africa
has contractually secured for itself 70%
of the electricity to be produced after
completion of the dam —‘a new form of
old colonial methods to obtain “‘raw ma-
terials’’ from underdeveloped countries
without any advantages for the country
possessing the resources.

FRELIMO, the fighters for independ-
ence from colonial rule, have resisted
this project not because they oppose tech-
nical progress but because the goal is to
use this progress to perpetuate white
domination — the opposite of real partner-
ship of peoples still being practiced by
the rulers of South Africa and Rhodesia
(still named for its colonial conquerer).
This project is being carried out with

The Aswan High Dam in Egypt was built with Soviet financial and technical aid.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE

FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 1974 -PAGE 10

’ i Of AGT PANE LE VA

DR. STEENBECK ‘
W
lo
ar
yc
M
considerable capital investment and ia
nical aid by the Federal Republic of ® *¢
many. A similar project on the Cull ti
river in Angola is being given little pu?
ity because even in the FRG considel@
resistance has been generated a b
: re eoreer eer ; E
this type of ‘‘economic aid. d
~ The energy policy of the socialist i
tries is determined by the common € s
to rationally use the existing energy tt
ces and to attain high rates of inc Ne
in electrical energy production by ™ W.
ing. equipping and running power sta) ar
That is accomplished by extention of! etn
interconnected energy net of the Cou tic
for Mutual Economic Assistance to ¥ Ce
all member-states are tied. This)  {j,
stability and security are increaS@) |,
the power net of the individual count — th
and time differences are used to
peak periods. a pr
In socialist countries the steady)
struction of nuclear power stations | th
most economical way to satisfy risif® Of;
quirements. But because other sour; Co
energy are available, it will only beg F Va
essary to put 10 million kilowatt ho™ ho
atomic power into operation annually, ex
The huge investment needed to DU, 4,
profitable power station requires | tn
constructional and operational exPl) — mi:
ces be evaluated first in smaller ins
tions. Here our Rheinsbarg atomic PW!
station has been thoroughly justifi@ Co
was large as a purely experimental!
and small for the mere production ©” th
ergy. but precisely this enabled us tO) We
many years of varied and successiU ro
ing in full production, including pe! '
intensive energy requirements, al Tr
exceptionally useful for further W7 thr
the entire CMEA area. Co
The scientific-technological am
nomic integration which is the goal chi
these areas among socialist countl Ra
be complete in the use of atomic ‘Ai
stations. The Soviet Union is leadi™ Mj

field, but the planned contributions
other socialist countries in const!
equipment ‘operation and supervis
these stations will require extens!
forts by all.

(The author then discusses the ®

of various modes of nuclear enefé!, ‘
duction, and the possibility of ‘‘sol@ ae
gy.’’ which would produce suffic is
for the requirements of an entire® Ya
nent — Ed.) the
Everyone can draw conclusiom | al
what the technical and social com’) the
ces of such developments are. a fo,
great strides have yet to be M@°) wa
day’s world with its threats of ‘in
quests for profit would be unable yi,
with such developments. A com y
world in which partnership of all P i
has become a way of life is the a
sible background for such develop’ ae
We can never know for sure ¥ the
future is going to be like, but we C2) In
about what it might be like and © ow
our action to what it should be like: tr
an
WORLD MA'

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