i'.lt'i
Nuciea; VV:rr
A I\,IODESTPITOPOSAL
,|lan Lig'htmcLtx
Alan Lightmanwriteson sclenceissues Among his books are TimeTravel
iia pipu Joe'sPipe (1984)and A ModernDay Yankeein a Connecticuti
(1986).Boththetitleof thisessayand !
on Science
iiurt ina OtherEssays
Swifis bililg
course,lromJonathan
of
de{ve,
method
satiric
Lightman's
f
essayis reprintedin AppendixE.)Swift's
(1729).(Swftt's
"ModestProPosal"
caused by faminein lreland-is very
suffering
widespread
subject-the
satirislsattempt,throughtheir outbut
both
Lightman's;
{rom
di{ferent
jar
and the uncartngout of theircomignorant
the
to
proposals,
rageous
placencyand force them to contemplatea criticalproblem.
'fhet-e
are so rnany of tt)y getl€l'atiorl tvhrl lrave never felt a r'r'ar.By
a p d l a r g e , t h i s i s a g o o d t h i n g , o f c o r r t ' s e l,l t t t a s w e P o s t \ \ ' a rb a b i e s
slowll, .li-b i,',to the seats of political po\ver, I wonder abotrt the
c o n s e q u e n c e so f t o d a y ' s t e r r i b l e \ { e a p o l ) sc o n t i n g i n t o t h e h a n d s o f
s r r c h i n n o c e t t t s .C t t r t ' e n t l e a t l e r s ,r v l t a t e v e tt' h e i r p o l i t i c s ,a t l e a s t c a n
, a g a s a k i ,H a n r b u r g ,
r e c a l l t h e a p p a l l i n g c l e a t h s c e n e sa t H i r c l s l r i r l r l rN
l ' o k 1 , o , a n c i i ) t e s c l e n . l I ' r , e s c e n r t n l y p l r o t o g l i r p h s .I ' v e . r e a d .b o o k s . I
']f1", and talked it over-in
rvas rivered to the telet,ision set b1, fle D_a1t
h o r r o r f o r s e v e r a l d a 1 , sr v i t h n r y r v i f ' e . r ' [ ' l r e n i t t v o r e o f f , I i k e t h e
rlenrol')/ of a nighttrlare,
s o n r e o f t h e s c i e n t i s t so f m y a g e , n o t r v a i t i n g f o r a n y p a r t i c u l a r
senior-ity,have ah'ead1,1>trttlteil rrtinclsto designing the new generation of space-basecl\{eapolls, sptrr-redotr by President Reagan's Star
\.\/arsspiech lasr year'.The tearn ol fighter jocks irnnrortalized in Tom
\Volfe'i The Rigl* Strf seeur Lo have been curiously reincarnated in
the clozetr or so yolrI)g ph1'sicists"prrshirlg back the edge" in space
\veapons design in "O-ir-orrp" of rhe Larvrence Livermore Narional
Labtratory. Tllese intellectual tesLpilots are mostly in their late twenties arrcl ali male . Tl-rey inhabit a rvorld of eDrpty Coke bottles and
R e p r i r r t e db y p e r m i s s i o no f S c i e n c e ' 8 4J ,r r l v / A u g u s t 'C o p y r i g h t @ 1 9 8 4b y t h e
Amer-ican Associatiorr fol' the ,{dvatrcerrtrnt o[ Science'
l,q,ll these cities suffeled rrcat--rotal(lcstltrctiorl by Allied aerial bonlbing'
<luring the lattel part of \{rolld War II'
2ln
1g83, tlre T\/ movie, The DTy Aftet'--4r'tn'tatizing the effects of a thermo-i.,=
city-became a rnedia'4i
nuclear bonrb dropped on a rypilal, nrecliunr-size-d
and widespread
inspiring
intense
broadcast,
even
event \i,eeksbefore it rvas
tiiscussionsinsclrools,chutclres,honres,arrdptrb|icmeetingplaces'
A ivk:i1esi
Prclt<tsal:
AlailLtrll,iritrrnil) /
all-nigh.t
b.outsrvithtop-sec'etresearch
a'd sharea' acl'rir.irrg
resl)ecr
for eachorher'sbrain porver.A "riglit srrrff' ethic florrr-isris
in arl
areasof science'But in o gro'p ur tiu.r,','ror-e
this is courbinedrvith
the glamour of space,rhe rhrir of inve'ring ner' kinds of
nr,rclear
r'eapons,
youchful idealism.O gr.orrpl:hysicistLar'rence\,\/esr,
.a.n{
age 28, rold the Neu'york.Tintes,
"we-car try .o regoriatetr-eaties
anci
thingsIike that.Brrrone thing I.cancloper.sonallyln,itrrout
havingto
rvaitfor arms corrrol,-isto deveropthe iechnologyto elinrinut.
th.,r,
myself,to elinrinateoffensivenucllar lveaponsJriiih defe,rsi'eo.esl
.
. T.e nurnber of *erv,lveaponsdesigrisis iiniired only by
one,s
creativity."\\/har more dangerous.r."i,,r. rhan the in.*p.r1i.n..d
macho,ar'red here,rvithpe'cil and paper.chuck veagei, Gor.clo'
cooper,andJoh' Glen' all prided rhiniselves
in ha.gi'i tt.,"i,.
t-,ia",
over the edge.How rnuchhide hangi'g rrasbeen do-nelanaca'
be
done,by the fellowsof o Group?None of them hasseena
,uclear
explosio'.si'ce the r963 TesrBan Treaty,rhererra'en'rbee. a'y'-r
this counrry abovegrour:d.
on the tech.ical side, there is incr-easi'gagreemenlamong
weaponsexperB that a space-based
ballisticnrisiileil.f.,rr. sl,sreuris
unworkablefor rhe foreseeablef.tlrre a.d, e,r,e'if put into
acrion,
rv.ould
be costlya.d dangerous.
Technicalissuesaside,howe'er,rhe
glamour of Starl4lar:r
shirnmersand beckons.lvlillionsof us, chilcrr.en
and.grown-upsalike,sawthe moviea'cr r'verenres'rerizedby images
of death-dealinglaserrays,sreekcrafrsshootingit or.rtin sp'ace,
n,-,d
handsomeyoung
men batriingthe fo'cesof evillThereheahyr.isions
seepinto the unconsciousa.d reso.atewith rhe leftover clayclreanrs
of little boys.
What we seem
be
.to.
-concocting,in these vastly improved
weaponsnorv plannecl,
is an increasingTy
volatiremixture of the concretewith the abstract:the weaponstliemsel'es,brisding with
multi_
ple warheadsand computer chipsand calcularedacc,.rra?y,
a.e rhere
all_righr, occupying volume-but nor of rl'risworld. farthbound
ICBMs,.waitingsilenrand preprogramnredin rheir Midwestsilos,
are
dreamlikee.nough.while t"eiponr orbiting in spacedissorve
armosr
completelyinto a mist of make-believe,
last Sr.rndayafter-noon,my wife was out gar-deningand my
.
daughterupstairs'apping. Antsyfrom one of rhe more cerebrar
'ew
bookson nuclearweapons,I got r.rpfrom m1,chair,pacedaround the
house,and hit upon a plan of action,which i t',op.*,iil ,,or be liabre
ro
th9
objection.All i' all, it's a modestproposal.A smallcounrry,
least
safelydistant from the superpou,ers,
shouldte desr.oyedwirh nuclearlveaponsas rhe world rotks or:. This can be do.e periodicaily,
s.al;v3ry 20 ye.ars,s3
the carnageof nuclearclestrucrionsrays
th.at
treshin our minds.Evidenrly,
rhe h'ndred rhousa.dor so peopre
7!'Il
Nt.tc,--,Wai'
k i l l c c l i n H i l o s h i r r r a a n c l N a g a s a k i r v e l ' e l l o t t ' I e a l ' l ) ' e r l o t l g hs, o I
r c c o n r n r e n ds e l e c t i o no f a s a c l i f i c i a lc , r u n t r l ' o f a b o r ' r tl 0 m i l l i o n s o u l s .
A s a n a c l d e db o r t u s ,r v e c o u l c lc l ' l o o s ea t t e c o t r o t l t i c a l l lt 'l o u b l e d n a t i o n ,
n o w s t r a i n i u g t l l e r v o r l d ' s l l ' r o l ' l e t a l 'by a l a r t c : e .
N o r ' , v n , r i i r r gn r y p l o p o s a l t o b e r a k e n l s h a l f - b a k e c l I, h a v e g i v e n
s ( ) m e a r r e n t i o n t o t l r e t r e c e s s a t ' yf i g t r r e s . I l e c k o l r t h a t l 0 n r i l l i o n
p e o p l e , l i v i n g r n o s t l ) 'i n c i t i e s ,cl o r r l d b e k i l l e c l h a t r c l i l l 'w i r h r l o r - n o r e
r h a n 3 0 r v a l h e a c l s ,a t 3 0 0 k i l o t o r r s o f T N ' I p e r r v a l h e a d . ( T l i i s i s
l o r , r g h l y t h e y i e l c l o f t h e W 7 B n t r c l e a t r r ' ; t t ' l t e a da, f a v o r i t e o f t h e
Unirecl Smtes lv{inutenran force ancl :rborrt 25 tilrres rtrore porverful
r h a r r t l . r eb o u : b d l o p l : e c l o n H i r o s h i r r t a . ) . \ s S o v i e t b o n r b s t y p i c a l l y
h : r v ea s o n : e w h a th i g h e r y i e l d , a l e s s e rn r r n t b er o f t h e r r :c o u l d a c c o n r plislt. the ver1';s1,t-t.aloot'U.
N o s e n s i b l ei n d i v i c l t r a lc a r - rf a i l t o s e e t l t e e c o n o n r y o f t h i s p r o p o s a l .T h e t o t a l p o p u l a t i o u o f t h e r v o r l c li s o v e l f o r r r a r r d a h a l f b i l l i o n
persons. I\,{y plan requests the]sacrifice of al>out oue-qual'tet' of one
p e r c e l ' r to f t h i s n u r u b e r . T l r e t o t a l n ' o l l r l s r r l l p l l 'o f n u c l e a r r v a l h e a d si s
a b o u t 5 0 , 0 0 0 . l r { y p l a n r e q u i l e s o n l y t / r r ;o f o n e p e l ' c e n t .
A n e s s e n t i apl a r t o f t h e s c l i e n r e ,o f c o r r r s e ,i s t h a r t h e d e s t r u c t i o n
e l ' t i e s .I r r t h e
b e r v e l l c l o c u r : r e n t e da r r d a t t e n d e d b y t l r e r r y > p r o l > r ' i apt a
l a s t u s e o f r r u c l e a rb o n r b s ,4 0 ) , e a l ' sa t ( o , \ v e s i n r p l y c l i d n o t h a v e t h e
i u t e r e s to r t h e e q u i p m e n t f o l a d e c l r t a t ec o v e r i l g e .T o r h i s e n d , I r v o u l d
r e c o n r m e n d , a s a r n i n i m u m , t h a t t h e l e a c l e l so f t h e U . S . a n d t h e
U , S . S . R .a n d t h e n u c l e a l w e a p o n ss c i e r t t i s t cs r > r t c e m e db e b u s e d i n , t o
p e r s o n a l l l , i n s p e c t t h e c l a r n a g e ,a s s o o l ' I u s t l t e r a d i i r t i o r : l e v e l h a s
s l i l : p e d t o a t o l e l ' a b l e l e v e l . A s t o r e u o l c l i r r gt h e e v e n t l i v e , a v e r y
k n o r v l e d g e a b l ea c q u a i r r t a n c eo f u ' t i u e ; r s s u l e s r n e t h a t t l : e U n i t e d
S u r r e s '" B i g B i l d " s a t e l l i t e sl r a v e t ) r e i n r l > r ' e s s i vaeb i l i r y t o p i c k o u r
details as srnall as one foot ir: size flonr an olbit of a ferv hundled
u r i l e s a b o r , et h e E a r t h . A t t l r a t h e i g h t L l r e s a t e l l i t e sl l o u l d b e o u t o f
h a r m ' s $ , a ) /a n d y e t c o u l g l p h o t o g l a p h s i n g l e c l r a r r e d b o d i e s i n t h e
lr,rl>blebelo,'v.The nren, lvonen, and cltilclren on lhe or.rtskir-rs
of each
o f r h e b o r : r bb l a s t s ,n o t i u u ' l e d i a r e l y k i l l e c lb y t h e e x p l o s i o n ,c o u l d b e
p h o t o g r a p h e d i n t i m e s e q u e n c ea s t l r e y d e v e l o p b u r n s , r , o n r i t r v i t h
larliation si.ckness,and lvritlre or: the glound fol several holrrs or
d a y s . S h o r t l y t h e l e a f t e r , t h e s a t e l l i t c sr r , o u l d r e l a y t h e s e p i c t u l e s t o
r r e w s p a p e l ' sm
, a g a z i n e s ,a n d t e l e v i s i o ns t r r c l i o sa r o r - r u ct lh e w o r l d . W e
r r l e w e i l a c c r r s t o n r e idn o u l s o c i e t yt o r , i e r r , i n g
s u c l l n ' l a s s - n r e d isap e c r a c l e s , a n d t h i s o n e s h o u l d h a v e g r e a t e r t ' e d e e r r r i n gs o c i a l v a l u e t h a n
rnt"lstothers.
T h e s t l ' o n g p o i n t s o f m 1 , p l a n , I h t r r t r b l yb e l i e v e ,a r e o b v i o r . r a
s nd
rnully. Filst and [or-ernost,it rvou]d provicle every person in t]re rvorld
r v i t h a p e r s o n a la n d g r a p h i c u n d e l s t a n c l i n go f t h e o u t c o r n eo f n u c l e a r
\ v e a p o n s .I f p e o p l e r . v i t n e s s ead s a u r p l eo f t h e d e s t r - u c t i o nt,h e n m o l e
A l t / u d e s tP r o p o s a lA: l a n l i g l r t n r a r r 7 C 0
c i t i z e n so f t h e s a c r i f i c e dc o l r n t r i e s r t o u l d t h e n r s e l v e sb e n e f i t . T h e i r
economic difficr-rlrieswould instantly be solved, and they could go ro
t h e i r d e a t h s p r o u d l y , k n o w i n g t h a t i r r t h e i r d y i n g t h e y r v e r ed o i u g t h e
rest of the wolld a good turn. Tlrird, tlie idea is thrifty, r-eqr.riringonly
a sn:all portion of the rvorld's population and nucleal' resolu.ces.
F o u r t h , t h e s c h e m e s h o u l d e a s i l l , 1 s 6 6 i v et h e c o o p e r a t i o n o f t h e
superpot{els, who would have lirtle to lose and rnuch to gain. And
finally, owing to the efficierrcy of the \veapons involved, the enrile
businessexcepting rhe publicity cor.rldbe finishecl in a tidy ferv day,s.
W e l i v e i n a n e r v A g e o f R e a s o n .I t i s t i m e w e a c t e d a c c o r d i r r g l y . r o
What coulcl be more reasonable than the .expense of a ferv urillion
l i v e s , t o ' g a i n a p r a c t i c a l e d u c a t i o n i n . u u c l e a rw e a p o n s ?
D i s c u s s i o nQ u e s t i o n s
"A ModestProposal"
(reprinted
in Appendix
1. ReadJonathan
Swift's
E of
followSwift'ssatiricmethod,
doesLightman
thisbook).Howfaithfully
of his argument?
his language,
and the development
feelthatthe presentgeneration-and
particularly
2. WhydoesLightman
an nhipct
andtechnicians-needs
the presentgeneration
of scientists
lessonin the horrorsof nuclearwar?
thatmanypeopletoday
is beingfairin charging
3, DoyouthinkLightman
awareof whatnuclearwar actually
to or insufficiently
are insensitive
entails?
"A ModestProposal"
to you?Whyor whynot?
offensive
4. ls Lightman's
proposalseemslogicalon the surface,for what
5. SinceLightman's
shouldwe not adoptit?
reason(s)
"Wellveln a
meanswhenhe concludes,
6. Whatdo youthinkLightman
lt is timewe actedaccordingly"?
newAge of Reason.
seriouspurposein wfitingthispiece?Whydo you
7. Whatis Lightman's
approach
intryingto achieve
this
thinkhe didn'tadopta straightforward
purpose?