Conversation

Corporate Profits over People, 1912 Edition:
We’ve been sold a myth; a story of unforeseen tragedy and random heroism.

NUMBER of persons aboard, 2340. Number of life-boats and rafts, 20. Capacity of each life-boat, 50 passengers and crew of 8. Utmost capacity of life-boats and rafts, about 1100. Number of life-boats wrecked in launching, 4. Capacity of life-boats safely launched, 928. Total number of persons taken in life-boats, 711. Number who died in life-boats, 6. Total number saved, 705. Total number of Titanic’s company lost, 1635.

Yet there it is in black and white. Anyone can do the math. The White Star Line made a decision not to provide enough boats for all the passengers and crew on the RMS Titanic. It’s really as simple as that; no different from automakers calculating the acceptable number of deaths before a recall. Isn’t that romantic, isn’t that brave.