Global proliferation ensures extinction.

But our generation is gravely mistaken in its risk assessment. American and Russian nuclear arsenals remain alive and well today, and worse, they have been by nations such as India, Israel, North Korea and Pakistan. Many of us remain stubbornly attached to the theory of Mutually Assured Destruction, which argues the threat of nuclear retaliation against an attack provides an adequate safeguard against conflict escalation. Some scholars, including Kenneth Waltz, have gone so far as ing that we should allow nuclear weapons proliferation as a method of promoting peace. However, this deterrence-based approach does not take into account the possibility of s, or of , two very real menaces. Spreading nuclear weapons to less developed countries that may not have the means to safekeep them would drastically increase the chances of an unwanted detonation, potentially setting off a chain of catastrophes from which there will be no return.