Why Nuclear Weapons Are Not 'Immoral'

Why Nuclear Weapons Are Not ‘Immoral’

Although I have talked about the problem with ‘moral arguments’ in a previous post¹, I have recently heard many people say nuclear weapons are immoral and therefore think it would be useful to explore this issue further on this subject.

One of the arguments for nuclear weapons is that they have kept the peace since the second world war, and the deterrent effect has stopped a major confrontation between the ‘superpowers’ that could result in millions of dead.

This is a moral and principled argument which cannot be easily dismissed. There are many well-meaning and knowledgeable people adhere to it. I would not argue that people who think this are immoral, evil warmongers – they are just wrong.

Although not the subject of this post, just to point out some counterarguments to their arguments are:

there were (and are) many proxy wars between the competing blocks during this time of peace.
the NATO countries followed a policy of containment with the Soviet Union. However, since the mid the collapse of the Soviet Union NATO has followed a policy of expansion . George Kennan, who is often called the “Father of Containment”² called a fateful error³.
even if the deterrent effect is valid, it does not rule out the possibility of accidental nuclear⁴ war or irrational actors
rational actors could make decisions that lead to nuclear exchange. As Robert McNamara (who was Secretary of State during the Cuban Missile Crisis) stated:

“Rational individuals: Kennedy was rational; Khrushchev was rational; Castro was rational. Rational individuals came that close to total destruction of their societies. And that danger exists today.⁵“

Morals Are Important

Having an idea what is good and bad conduct within a society is a vital part of a functioning society and individuals within that society. However, this does not mean that such conduct is inherently ‘good’ or ‘bad’. For example, homosexuality, a gentile going out with a Jew, black people using the same entrance as a white person, have been seen as immoral.

While we cannot deny that morals exist within a society, it does mean that they are right.

Show Them They Are Wrong – Not Bad

As I have previously argued^1,⁶, there is a danger of using your political opinions as a personal profile, and it is important to see politics as a problem of how we organize society rather than a way of virtue signalling.

Saying that a person is immoral and a bad person does not engender meaningful debate or get people to change their opinion.

Reasoned argument about why we think they are wrong can.