"My proposal is that the 186 countries that don't have nuclear weapons assemble and draft an ultimatum to the countries that do, stating that unless the nuclear-armed states get rid of their weapons, they, the non-nuclear-armed states, will band together to conduct the research and development necessary for each of them to have their own weapons. That's it. Risky? Yes. But is it riskier than the present situation? Perhaps not."
"That's it. Risky? Yes. But is it riskier than the present situation? Perhaps not. Ross Andersen, in " The New Arms Race," predicts that the nuclear club may double under existing conditions. Staying on the present course assures us of only one thing: that we will eventually, by intention, misjudgment, human or technological error, or just plain bad luck accomplish our mutual assured destruction. The ultimatum risks nothing more than that."
Reflections link nuclear-era memories, ethical concerns about technically alluring innovations, and a concrete proposal to break nuclear monopoly. The proposal calls for the 186 non-nuclear countries to unite and issue an ultimatum demanding that nuclear-armed states relinquish their arsenals or face coordinated development of weapons by the non-nuclear states. The proposal frames such collective action as risky but possibly less dangerous than a trajectory that could expand the nuclear club and lead to accidental or intentional mutual assured destruction. A personal memory recalls childhood exposure to the Hood test and photographs from Michael Light’s 100 Suns, underscoring the human stakes.
Read at The Atlantic
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