No CrossRef data available.
Article contents
The Atomic Bomb. Political Hopes and Realities
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 August 2009
Extract
To judge from the beginnings of the so-called Atomic Age, the invention of nuclear fission has had as yet greater psychological than physical effects. The atomic bomb climaxed the psychological warfare against Japan and accelerated the surrender of that country. Immediately afterwards, the bomb threw, by its mere existence, the again peaceful world into a turmoil of fear and despair. Prophets arose to proclaim the advent of a final catastrophe. They predicted the demise of mankind in an earth-shattering chain-reaction. Was it not to be expected? We are approaching the end of our millenium. Our contemporaries readily believe in journalistic clichés and scientific absurdities. The mystic of prayer and self-chastisement has been replaced by the magic of mathematical formulas and physical models.
- Type
- Research Article
- Information
- Copyright
- Copyright © University of Notre Dame 1946
References
1 It may be noted in passing that, in the last analysis, the partisans and opponents of world government are divided by a different set. or hierarchy, of valuations: the former put peace at the peak of their pyramid of values, the latter, in most cases, liberty. If Norman Cousins proposes to work out a system of checks and balances to be incorporated into the world government, he overlooks the fact that the present system of independent states alone provides the essential check against tyranny. The separation of domestic powers, the division into an upper and lower chamber, the juxtaposition of federal and state legislatures, etc., important as all these features may be, do not give the ultimate protection against world dictatorship. The system of national states is the only check against irrevocable, ubiquitous and omnipotent tyranny, because war is the only efficient weapon against dictators.
2 Space is lacking here to develop the crucial importance of “legitimacy” for the stability of government and state. No government that is not accepted as “legitimate” can survive for any length of time. The reader is referred to the works of Max Weber.
3 It may be pertinent to recall that, as early as 1930, the German poet, Erich Kaestner, outlined in his verse “Das Letzte Kapitel” (The Last Chapter) the future history of mankind after the establishment of world government. The following is a prose translation of the verse:
On July 12, 2003, the message was broadcast that a bomb squadron of the aerial police would exterminate mankind. It was stated that, in the opinion of the world government, permanent peace could not be established except by the poisoning of all human beings. It was furthermore stated that flight was impossible; not a single person would be permitted to survive. The new poison gas would creep into any shelter, and it would not be necessary to commit suicide. On July 13, one thousand planes, fully loaded with gas and bacilli, started out from Boston. Flying quickly around the globe, they accomplished the murder which had been ordered by the world government. … Now mankind had finally attained its desired objective. To be sure, the method was not entirely humane. But the earth had become quiet and it silently rolled, fully at peace, upon its well-known elliptical way.
4 The author does not want to give the impression that he believes that future peace is solely dependent upon Russia's intentions and actions. He does not predict a Russo-American war. Nor does he engage in the futile criticism of a foreign policy which, from a Marxian and Russian point of view, is consistent and successful. Attention is merely called to the fact that, as long as Germany and Japan remain in a state of utter powerlessness, no world conflict is conceivable except one in which the United States and Russia find themselves in opposite camps. If they are friendly to each other, there is no danger of war. Hence if we want an absolute guarantee against a major war, we must forestall the conflict from which, under present conditions, such a war could alone develop. By friendly cooperation between America and Russia war would be avoided, yet it is merely possible or probable that such a cooperation can be maintained. If an absolute certainty of peace is desired, a hopeful reliance upon good intentions and friendship is inadequate, as they may not survive the clash of mutually exclusive interests. Absolute certainty can be attained only if one of the two protagonists renounces his interests here and now, and accepts, without questioning, the leadership of the other. Of course, this certainty could also be achieved if the Russians become members of the United States. Unfortunately, they are not pacifists and do not crave absolute security. Their supreme ideal is not the maintenance of peace but the ultimate victory of Communism. By joining the United States, Russia would ensure the ultimate victory of Capitalism, and thus forsake her raison d'être for no ideal of her own. It is up to the pacifists to make all the sacrifices that may be required to preserve peace. Whether even a supreme sacrifice of self-abandonment would preserve peace for a long time and eliminate war permanently, is another question.