Both we and the Soviets face the common threat of nuclear destruction and there is no likelihood that either capitalism or communism will survive a nuclear war.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Nuclear war threatens all nations regardless of political system, making survival impossible for any ideology.
- In plain terms
- No political system survives nuclear war, so all sides share a common threat.
- What can you take from it?
- Mutual destruction makes political ideology irrelevant in nuclear conflict.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What prevents nations from risking mutual destruction?
- How do we prioritize survival over ideology?
Another view
It assumes rational actors who might still risk war for perceived gain.
More from John Kenneth Galbraith
The huge capacity to purchase submission that goes with any large sum of money, well, this we have. This is a power of which we should all be aware.
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