Non-proliferation and the cost of blanket prohibition

The nuclear-policy analogy combines support for non-proliferation treaties with criticism of restrictions on sharing civilian research. It distinguishes reactors intended to produce weapons material from designs for power generation. The counterfactual claim is that wider civilian cooperation could have provided nuclear electricity for decades and reduced dependence on imported fossil fuels. Solar and wind power are welcomed, but the objection concerns the earlier decades when nuclear generation could already have been available. Countries with large hydroelectric installations provide a comparison for the energy-security benefits claimed. This is an argument about the consequences of broad restrictions, rather than a technical assessment of individual reactor designs.