Endangered Species: How We Can Avoid Mass Destruction and Build a Lasting Peace

"I have been in the nuclear weapons business for over twenty years, and I have always been a pacifist." Stephen M. Younger looks into the heart of humankind to present a practical plan for ending mass violence, the scourge of modern times and a threat to our survival as a species. Do our genes condemn us to ever greater acts of barbarism? Do our complex societies, so necessary to modern life, include a fundamental flaw that drives us to periodic wars and genocide? Why has an enduring peace proven so elusive?

Younger understands, as few others can, our potential for violence. The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction means that any nation, group, or even individual could cause unimaginable carnage. And the accelerating pace of communications and transportation mean that things can happen faster than we can think about them. Looking across our knowledge of psychology, history, politics, and technology, Younger presents a convincing argument that we can escape our spiral into global destruction. But we haven't a moment to lose.

A former nuclear weapons designer discusses the increasing threat of weapons of mass destruction and offers ideas on how to construct the best practical world consistent with our human nature.

"I have been in the nuclear weapons business for over twenty years, and I have always been a pacifist." Stephen M. Younger looks into the heart of humankind to present a practical plan for ending mass violence, the scourge of modern times and a threat to our survival as a species. Do our genes condemn us to ever greater acts of barbarism? Do our complex societies, so necessary to modern life, include a fundamental flaw that drives us to periodic wars and genocide? Why has an enduring peace proven so elusive?

Younger understands, as few others can, our potential for violence. The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction means that any nation, group, or even individual could cause unimaginable carnage. And the accelerating pace of communications and transportation mean that things can happen faster than we can think about them. Looking across our knowledge of psychology, history, politics, and technology, Younger presents a convincing argument that we can escape our spiral into global destruction. But we haven’t a moment to lose.

Publishers Weekly

A scholar and former designer of nuclear weapons, Younger writes stimulatingly and convincingly on the causes of war and terrorism and ways to prevent them. He begins by asking if humans are violent by nature, answering "yes," because war and homicide occur in all cultures, but also "no," because they're rare in some, routine in others. What does history teach? His answer: autocratic governments tend to go to war against the will of the governed; and since "no two democracies have gone to war with one another," their spread will reduce mass violence. Characterizing the U.S. as "a great nation that eschews mass violence, he finds "foreign adventures ill-suited to our national character," despite our current involvement in Iraq. Younger begins his review of solutions to violence by extolling President Bush as a visionary with "a deep personal belief in the benefits of democracy" and the courage to take action "to create an island of democracy" in the Middle East. Sensibly, Younger moves on to specifics, urging America to take the lead in supporting free elections, fighting corruption, promoting the rule of law and encouraging small business, education and agricultural reform to defeat poverty and immunize nations against the siren song of terrorism. (Apr. 10)

Stephen M. Younger is a senior policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. He recently retired as a senior fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he was in charge of nuclear weapons research and development. From 2001 to 2004, he was director of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency at the U.S. Department of Defense. He lives in Las Vegas.