Quotes from Herman Kahn

I'm against sloppy, emotional thinking.

You are a big country now, but you still tend to feel small and fragile. If the United States gets a cold, you get pneumonia.

World War I broke out largely because of an arms race, and World War II because of the lack of an arms race.

Failures of perspective in decision-making can be due to aspects of the social utility paradox, but more often result from simple mistakes caused by inadequate thought.

World War I broke out largely because of an arms race, and World War II because of the lack of an arms race.

Projecting a persuasive image of a desirable and practical future is extremely important to high morale, to dynamism, to consensus, and in general to help the wheels of society turn smoothly.

A total nuclear freeze is counterproductive - especially now, when technology is rapidly changing and the Soviets have some important strategic advantages.

A healthy and fully functioning society must allocate its resources among a variety of competing interests, all of which are more or less valid but none of which should take precedence over national security.

Only those who are ideologically opposed to military programs think of the defense budget as the first and best place to get resources for social welfare needs.

I'm against ignorance. I'm against sloppy, emotional thinking. I'm against fashionable thinking. I am against the whole cliché of the moment.