Drones 2025

November 21 Fred sent a note with link to a most interesting post he’d read about Drones and the future of War.

Speaking only as a citizen, it is a given that the technology of war is being perfected at an accelerating rate, from the ancient sticks and stones to ever more sophisticated technology we all have heard about.

POSTNOTE: Thanksgiving week seems to be an important week in the history of Ukraine/Russia/U.S.  Heather Cox Richardson summarizes in her usual expert way, here.   She shares some important information with us.

and communication technology is itself a weapon…character assassination is a weapon of choice in this day and age).

I am skeptical that, short of a mistake or misappropriation of something like a nuclear weapon and its launching code, armageddon is on the near or even far horizon.

Today, we are a global society, and have been such for a long time.  If China becomes the dominant world power, is it to its advantage to disable our economy, which is a very significant part of the total world economy?  I think not.  This applies more broadly: the rich control more and more of the wealth everywhere.  Does this help increasethe strength of the consumer network, which fuels the economy and most enriches the already rich?  I think not.

Drones can be personalized down to specific targets, such as small boats on an ocean.  I live in a community of 83,000, and if a drone was used to take out someone, say the mayor, would this win the war for hearts and minds of the rest of the population?  I think not.  It would very certainly be a disruption, but would it be beneficial to destroy all of the disrupters…or would it create a critical mass of the community arise to quell the threat?  I think so.

Advanced weaponry, of course, is a boon to the economy.  Note the little article in my college newspaper in 1961,

Lots and lots of people earn their living making sophisticated weaponry, and whole communities directly benefit.  Is this a problem?  Yes.   Is it fatal?  No.  People can be redirected to employment that is of benefit to all.  But this is a choice hard to make especially if those who benefit by the old ways feel threatened.

I could go on and on.

This is not to say that drones are not a problem.  They are.  But neither are they the ultimate end game.

Best we figure out how best to work out problems, which will always exist, and avoid selecting or enabling those who might want to make life more difficult for the peaceful majority.

1978 card from Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.