On: Dr. Seuss’ satirical lesson on nuclear armament and the absurdity of war (2016)

[datavirtue]

The next political platform dujour will entail calling the other sides' nuclear bluff. I can see the slogan now: "Let's get it over with!"

[halfmatthalfcat → datavirtue]

You can already see it in the US's response to Russia nuclear threat. "We have the ability to defend ourselves", aka "We can shoot down any nukes headed our way". It's becoming an idle threat that, if ever executed, would probably not succeed and would in turn be the most definitive declaration of war.

[mrleinad → halfmatthalfcat]

"ourselves" means Europe is on their own. Maybe not immediately, but soon.

[awb → mrleinad]

France and UK have nuclear weapons as well.

And “ourselves” realistically means NATO because of Article 5 military assistance.

[bitwize → datavirtue]

That's exactly how it worked in the first cold war. The Prisoners' Dilemma was formulated to model the consequences of nuclear exchange.