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Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch
Interesting point.
But I counter that it was the first technology created that made the concept of a winnable war between soveriegn states unwinnable, and therefore there was the benefit that this technology and these weapons actually created a understanding between two completely different and at times hostile and incompatible political systems that in any other way were destined for an inevitable showdown.
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Since the Second World War, we've had several major conflicts that easily dwarf some of the greatest human conflicts in human history.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_war
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_war
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_War_I
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_war_in_Afghanistan
I would argue that all nuclear power did was give sovereign powers more incentive to conduct highly-destructive and costly proxy wars.
Not to mention, that the existence of nuclear weapons creates the first and only conditions in human history for absolute war where every individual, civilian or soldier, is essentially on the front lines of combat.
Now that we have them, things like M.A.D. and other game theory calculations are useful and necessary. Doesn't mean that I don't think we should dismantle the globe's arsenal entirely. The problem with technology though is that once the cat is out of the bag, it's out to stay, so to speak. We can't undo this great and horrific mistake of the past, unfortunately.