War gaming has become a characteristic feature of modern life. From amateur clubs to professional academicians playing the war game in the company of military circles, we have come up against the phenomenon of the "robotization" of human life. Irving Louis Horowitz argues that those who protest the idea that war is a game do so on moral grounds that leave unanswered tough questions: What is the alternative to playing the game? What will become of us if we allow the opponent to become the better "player" in an all-or-nothing game of extinction?
Horowitz provides answers in a logical manner while focusing on facts and ethical alternatives to risky ethics. The work is divided into three sections: The New Civilian Militarists, Thermonuclear Peace and Its Political Equivalents, and General Theory of Conflict and Conflict Resolution. Included are such topics as arms, policies, and games; morals, missiles, and militarism; and conflict, consensus, and cooperation.
Horowitz concludes that it is time to register the fact that the basic option to destructive uses of science is not traditional morality, but better science—a science of survival. With a new introduction by Howard Schneiderman along with a major essay and other materials not included in the original edition, this classic work is a worthy contribution to intellectual debate in the twenty-first century and a must read for military strategists, sociologists, and historians.
Industry Reviews
Notes to the author: -I commend you for your contribution to the voices in the wilderness and hope that the trickle of sanity develops into a torrent before it is too late.- --Anatol Rapoport, Dept. of Psychiatry, The University of Michigan -I found your work extremely thoughtful. For a long time I felt that the best comment on this strange field was being made by my fellow physicists and not by the appropriate professionals. Your work is changing my mind.- --Philip Morrison, Laboratory of Nuclear Studies, Cornell University -The brilliance with which you have clarified the assumption of the new civilian militarists is a service to us all.- --Don Martindale, Dept. of Sociology, University of Minnesota -The War Game is a major contribution to the understanding of our time. It will stand as a substantial continuation of the work done by C. Wright Mills in The Power Elite and, The Causes of World War III.- -- David C. Smith, Dept. of History, Hobart & William Smith Colleges -The War Game is a very able piece of work, one that should shake faith in the new civilian militarists. My congratulations. - --D. F. Fleming, Dept. of International Relations, Vanderbilt University
Notes to the author: "I commend you for your contribution to the voices in the wilderness and hope that the trickle of sanity develops into a torrent before it is too late." --Anatol Rapoport, Dept. of Psychiatry, The University of Michigan "I found your work extremely thoughtful. For a long time I felt that the best comment on this strange field was being made by my fellow physicists and not by the appropriate professionals. Your work is changing my mind." --Philip Morrison, Laboratory of Nuclear Studies, Cornell University "The brilliance with which you have clarified the assumption of the new civilian militarists is a service to us all." --Don Martindale, Dept. of Sociology, University of Minnesota "The War Game is a major contribution to the understanding of our time. It will stand as a substantial continuation of the work done by C. Wright Mills in The Power Elite and, The Causes of World War III." -- David C. Smith, Dept. of History, Hobart & William Smith Colleges "The War Game is a very able piece of work, one that should shake faith in the new civilian militarists. My congratulations. " --D. F. Fleming, Dept. of International Relations, Vanderbilt University