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No company can be expected to build a nuclear reactor, an oil well, a coal mine, or anything else that's one hundred percent safe under all circumstances. The costs would be prohibitive. It's unreasonable to expect corporations to totally guard against small chances of every potential accident.
Robert Reich
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote emphasizes that complete safety in large-scale operations is unrealistic due to high costs and the inherent nature of risk.

Robert Reich highlights the impracticality of expecting absolute safety in industries that deal with complex and potentially hazardous operations. He argues that while safety is essential, it is unreasonable to demand that companies eliminate every potential risk, as doing so would be economically unfeasible and hinder their ability to operate efficiently.

Themes

SafetyRiskCorporate ResponsibilityCostIndustry

In practice

Example use cases

This quote could be used during a business seminar discussing corporate responsibility and risk management.

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