Abstract

The Useless Weapon
Lort-Phillips, Patrick | August 15, 1959 issue

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When the West confronts the problem of defense, it displays a mode of behavior that suggests, as amateur psychologists, a malady known as obsessional neurosis. The victim of this disorder is driven to take certain actions to allay his fears or anxieties, but since its actions alleviate symptoms only, without removing the basic cause of his fears, his relief is only temporary. The truth is that nuclear weapons cannot defend. Nuclear war is not a rational act. War must have a rational objective if it is to be useful. Even to survive is a rational objective. But with nuclear war there is no rational objective, for no one survives.

See Also:

MILITARY readiness; NUCLEAR weapons; WAR; NUCLEAR warfare; PSYCHOLOGISTS; ORDNANCE
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