Word: dyson
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Dyson, like a few other recent writers, therefore believes that it might be possible to change the nature of war so that it is once again as it was two hundred year ago: an activity in which "small professional armies [fight] small professional wars," and "the military can exercise its legitimate skills rather than blow the world...
...Dyson carefully reviews the possible ways to avoid nuclear war, all the time stressing that we must identify a workable concept to guide our efforts and stay with it. American military wavering since World War II between the doctrines of Mutual Assured Destruction and of Limited Nuclear War has produced a policy which is at once both unreliable and dangerously unstable. After noting the advantages and problems of each possibility, such as Counterforce (the current Soviet policy) and Non-violent Resistance, Dyson advocates a concept known technically as Parity Plus Damage-Limiting. This doctrine, which Dyson prefers to call "Live...
Unfortunately, Dyson, like Jonathan Schell and other writers, has not been able to answer the question of what will insure that nuclear weapons, once eliminated, will not be re-introduced--either by one of the superpowers or by some terrorist group. But Dyson does offer a very promising suggestion, one reflected in his book's title. He believes that the successful elimination of nuclear armaments must take on the semblance of a cause; it must become a heartfelt commitment, similar to the cause of abolition in the 18th and 19th centuries...
Weapons and Hope is not in itself a complete answer or prescription for eliminating or even lessening-the possibility of nuclear war. But through skillful blending of history, an awareness of human nature, technical facts and the imperatives of survival. Dyson has sketched out a general plan and outlook with which to approach the difficulties of the arms race. He is undoubtedly right that a strong desire to eliminate nuclear arms is crucial if any progress is to be made. "We should not worry too much about the technical details of weapons and delivery "systems," Dyson writes. "The basic issue...
Unquestionably, we must be ready. But Dyson's dependence on what is basically a shift in conciousness is disturbing, could such a shift actually lead to fundamental change? Dyson maintains that. "If the turning is real, it will find appropriate political forms in which to express itself." One can but hope that he is correct, and that the warriors and the victims will soon learn to speak the same language-one that can be heard by world leaders everywhere...