American - Scientist | February 15, 1922 - July 7, 1983
Because of new technologies, new wealth, new conditions of domestic life and of international relations, unprecedented criteria and issues are coming up for national decision.
Herman Kahn
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Only those who are ideologically opposed to military programs think of the defense budget as the first and best place to get resources for social welfare needs.
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World War I broke out largely because of an arms race, and World War II because of the lack of an arms race.
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Deterrence itself is not a preeminent value; the primary values are safety and morality.
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Nuclear weapons are intrinsically neither moral nor immoral, though they are more prone to immoral use than most weapons.
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In 1960 I published a book that attempted to direct attention to the possibility of a thermonuclear war, to ways of reducing the likelihood of such a war, and to methods for coping with the consequences should war occur despite our efforts to avoid it.
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Hopefully, nations will refuse to accept a situation in which nuclear accidents actually do occur, and, if at all possible, they will do something to correct a system which makes them likely.
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A healthy and fully functioning society must allocate its resources among a variety of competing interests, all of which are more or less valid but none of which should take precedence over national security.
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Projecting a persuasive image of a desirable and practical future is extremely important to high morale, to dynamism, to consensus, and in general to help the wheels of society turn smoothly.
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I'm against ignorance.
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I'm against sloppy, emotional thinking.
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I'm against fashionable thinking.
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