Why Fears of a Nuclear Arms Race Are Rising as US-Russia Treaty Expires

Aside from the ban on nuclear weapons testing, I don’t think it did much to make the world a safer place. I don’t think that was the point either. Nuclear weapons systems are really expensive to maintain, and there’s not much benefit to expanding them beyond an amount that could end civilization globally. I feel like it was mostly about backing down from a really expensive dick-measuring contest while maintaining some semblance of dignity.

Even if one side achieves it’s weird, Dr. Strangelove, futurweapon fantasy of a first strike that instantly wipes out all land-based retaliation capabilities as well as most of the population, the fallout isn’t going to be contained. That whole region won’t be exporting food for a decade or more, contributing to global hunger. Even if it doesn’t cause a worldwide nuclear winter, summers will be muted around the world for that decade, causing reduced agricultural output in otherwise unaffected areas. This is a scenario of civilization collapse from famine.

On top of all that, there are enough weapons on subs currently in the water to put an end to either side in 15 minutes or less. This really shouldn’t be about a treaty so much as not being stupid enough to waste resources on chest beating when they can be better used for more effective defenses, or better yet, economic growth and social welfare.