Controlling Military Technology

Abstract

The specter of a general nuclear war destroying entire societies and possibly most of humanity has led to the search for ways to prevent such a war. The magnitude of the disaster that would come with a global nuclear war clearly justifies not only concern but also continued efforts to further reduce the chances for its happening. Regardless of the intensity of the current debate over the role of nuclear weapons in national security, all sides agree that the prevention of nuclear war is a first priority. It can be said that there is general agreement about the moral responsibility of national leaders, their military leaders, and their advisers from all parts of society to prevent nuclear war. The disagreement, of course, is over how best to meet this responsibility. Moral commitment to a goal, however strong, does not automatically bring solutions or guarantee that considerable effort will not be wasted or even counterproductive. Some approaches may turn out to be more useful than realized, while others may be impractical or even undesirable. Although the prevention of nuclear war is clearly a goal of paramount importance, it cannot by itselfjustify every expenditure of effort. Therefore, examining the prospects and problems of pursuing a particular avenue to help prevent nuclear war is a logical prerequisite to committing ourselves to intensive effort in that direction. This essay examines the control of technology as just one of many approaches to reducing the danger and chances of nuclear war. The control of military technology can be considered as a process alone, without assuming causal relationships between technological momentum and the chances of nuclear war, a proposition probably impossible to prove either way. This process can also be considered without assuming that the nations involved can be induced to institute essential measures of control, which is another set of problems altogether. The central questions are: What is meant by the control of technology? Is it possible to control technology, to channel research and development away from ends determined to be undesirable? What would be involved in controlling technology? How do we identify what technology is undesirable? And