FNZAK@WEIZMANN.BITNET (Omer Zak) (12/23/87)
I got few responses on my suggestion that we the Earth people have been fortunate to have nuclear arms race. One response revealed the leftist bias and assumptions of its originator: > I also have a complementary science-fiction theme. Where a rational > and humane race lands on this planet, looks around and leaves in > disgust "they had food to feed the world, but they preferred to build > weapons with their resources and condemn a third of their population > to the torture of starvation, they are a worthless animal better > quarantined than allowed to share in the galactic community, they have > little to be proud of..." A similar theme was put by Issac Asimov in the form of the short story 'Silly Asses'). The bias lies in non-recognition of the fact that history unfortunately proved again and again the saying 'if you seek peace, be prepared for war'. The fact is that there was no nuclear war between USA and USSR and that the only event which is expected to bring it about is the emergence of an irrational leader in either country. If an alien race'd have visited the Earth then they'll have praise on the statemanship in which the Earth people handled the serious imbalance of power due to the leap into the era of atomic energy. Consider the fact that the previous revolution in arms technology (the one due to introduction of gunpowder in the battlefield) made it possible for few countries (which happened to be located in Europe) to exploit the entire world to their advantage (it is the meaning of 'colonization'). They didn't care to invest and develop industries in the colonies, because they'd compete with the industries in the home countries. It's the real cause of the 'torture of starvation' to which 'a third of their population' is condemned. Imagine how terrible would it have been if colonial governments were backed up by nuclear weapons possessed by the colonizing powers, allowing them to exploit the natives under threat of total extinction. The fact that it didn't occur is a big miracle, indeed! --- Another response which started by: > Don't be absurd. has the distinction of making a serious analysis which revealed the unbiased way in which its originator approached the problem. > If "we assume that mankind is not alone in space" (a considerable > assumption since we have absolutely zero evidence of it), the odds > are extraordinarily poor that we will run across one whose level of > advancement is less than 1000 years from ours, in either direction. > We will not need nuclear weapons to deal with those who are a thousand > years behind us, and nuclear weapons will be useless against those > who are a thousand years ahead of us. I couldn't agree more with the above analysis. But... The implicit assumption which it made is that if an enemy reaches us from the space, it will always be equipped with the most advanced technology under disposal of its race. However, it is not necessarily so. The enemy could be a renegade, expelled from its race, and which doesn't have access to the most advanced arms developed by its race. The best analogy familiar to us is that of common criminals. Even when armed, they usually are not armed by anything more advanced than pistols. Even machine guns are rare. Tanks, fighter airplanes, advanced communication equipment and the like have never been used by criminals (in the usual sense of the word - I am not speaking about terrorists, revolutionaries and the like). Not to mention atom bombs (even though there is fear of terrorists building or stealing an atom bomb and using it to extort governments). By analogy, it may be a good idea to be able to defend Earth against enemies whose arms technology is about at the level of atom bombs or slightly higher. --- Omer <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> "Be accessible to deaf persons via telephone - install a BELL 103 compatible modem at your home and remind your deaf friends to make sure that their TDDs can work also in BELL 103 mode."