The Center Spread

Abstract

Whatever optimism had accrued during the late 1950s had disappeared by early 1968. Following a trend of “international anarchy,” both France and China began building their nuclear arsenals in earnest, war raged on the Indian subcontinent, in the Middle East, and in Vietnam. Sounding a dour note, Rabinowitch questioned the priorities of global powers when announcing the Clock’s move toward midnight. T HE EVER-CHANGING GLOBAL SECURITY outlook—whether it be the apprehension that followed the first thermonuclear tests or the optimism accompanying the fall of the Berlin Wall—has guided the movement of the Doomsday Clock. When the Clock was introduced in 1947, Bulletin cofounder Eugene Rabinowitch defined it as a “symbol of urgency” representing the “state of mind” of those aware of nuclear peril. Later Clock changes often referred to “turning points,” “retreats,” “hopeful trends,” and “fateful junctures” to characterize not only events, but also the broad course of international security. Nearly 60 years later, the Clock is still ticking, performing its task, in the words of Rabinowitch, “to reflect basic changes in the level of continuous danger in which mankind lives . . . and will continue living, until society adjusts its basic attitudes and institutions.” Jonas Siegel