Is It “Just a Job”?

How do the scientists and specialists who are devoting their time and talents to turning out more and more deadly and devastating weapons feel about it? One such professional who has been in the “business” for over 30 years observes that few leave weapon-related work on account of conscience. “The truth is,” he says, “once they’re in it, very few people think much about it. . . . My colleagues who work on nuclear devices don’t do it for a reason. They do it because they are nuclear physicists.” Another expert feels that his conscience is clear: “The way I see it, since we have a military establishment, the best we can hope for is that no one will go off crazy and start a war.” However, this scientist admits that even this way of thinking is rare. “I’d say only about 10 per cent of my colleagues share my concerns. Maybe another 10 per cent are at the other extreme​—they’d do anything that would give us military superiority. And the other 80 per cent, well, I doubt they think much about it. To them, it’s just a job.”