> "It seems quaint now, but it’s astonishing how much the fear of war (especially nuclear annihilation) affected mid-century fiction."
Quite the reverse. That people say that the fear of war (nuclear or not) is "quaint" means that the wealthy and privileged first world has forgotten about war and that's not a normal state of affairs. The 18th and 19th centuries were wracked by war after war between major powers, culminating in the First World War ("the war to end all wars" remember?) and then Second World War in the first half of the 20th century. It was very surprising to everyone that another global war hadn't materialized by the 1980s.
Fear not, military rearmament spending worldwide has shot upwards as nations prepare for the inevitable wars to see who will be the new global top dog. We are all about to re-learn some old lessons, albeit at a heavy cost.
The latter half of the 19th/early 20th century (between Franco-Prussian war and WW1) was comparatively peaceful, not unlike the 1990s-2000s. It was called belle epoque for a reason.
We need to permanently retire the term "sleepwalking into war". When world leaders call for war, prepare for war, threaten war, and then cause as much war as they can, that's not sleepwalking.
"We" means us, the non-billionaires, the distracted by screens, the "it's too distressing to think about" class. We are sleepwalking. Always have been. Until our friends and family start falling, then, maybe, we'll take action.
> That people say that the fear of war (nuclear or not) is "quaint" means that the wealthy and privileged first world has forgotten about war...
Apart from perceptions, however real they were ... the hundreds of silos and missiles and thosaunds of bombs, whoever built them (names??) made a shit-ton of money (on both sides). 'Defense' spending relies on the manufacture of fears.
The privileged First World are supposed to profess their faith that constant war is normal and that we were lovingly watched over by our local super power and the threat of mutually assured destruction. You don’t have to remind us.
Quite the reverse. That people say that the fear of war (nuclear or not) is "quaint" means that the wealthy and privileged first world has forgotten about war and that's not a normal state of affairs. The 18th and 19th centuries were wracked by war after war between major powers, culminating in the First World War ("the war to end all wars" remember?) and then Second World War in the first half of the 20th century. It was very surprising to everyone that another global war hadn't materialized by the 1980s.
Fear not, military rearmament spending worldwide has shot upwards as nations prepare for the inevitable wars to see who will be the new global top dog. We are all about to re-learn some old lessons, albeit at a heavy cost.