Militarism: a psychosocial disease.

The prevention of nuclear was logically implies the abolition of war itself. Approaches to the prevention of war founder on a paradox: as long as war is a credible option, measures to prevent war must be balanced against their negative effect on the conduct of a war if war breaks out. A different approach is to eliminate the credibility of the war option. Militarism is a major obstacle which effectively masks the inherent irrationality of war. Trial by combat is as absurd as the ancient practice of trial by ordeal to determine guilt or innocence. When militarims is addressed as a psychosocial disease, the absurd irrationality of its symptoms is clearly exposed. The actions of medical organizations like the Medical Association for Prevention of War (MAPW) Medical Campaign against Nuclear Weapons (MCANW), Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) and International Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), can be appropriately viewed as small but effective steps in the treatment of this disease.