Current Events > Your honest thoughts on people who think WWIII will start in our lifetime?

(+) Yeah! (+)

It will literally never happen, humanity is smarter den dat imo

Didn't humanity elect Trump?

Vegy posted...

It will literally never happen, humanity is smarter den dat imo

I dont underestimate human stupidity.

I think it's unlikely another world war will happen in our lifetimes but not so unlikely that I'd ever say definitively that it won't happen.

I'm a lot more concerned about the US's current decline into fascism and theocracy than I am about a hypothetical World War III (which would probably be, in part, sparked by the US going full-fash, anyway).

Hell, if anything, WWIII happening and going nuclear might just be a mercy compared to having to spend the rest of one's (probably now-quite-short in my case, and for many, many others as well) life in a dystopian, totalitarian regime that'll make the works of Orwell and Atwood look like Dr. Seuss by sheer comparison.

Vegy posted...

It will literally never happen, humanity is smarter den dat imo

Sorry, but...

If I have to bet between "in our lifetime" and "literally never", my bet will be on "our lifetime".

Its a reasonable fear imo.

I believe that current human civilization will collapse within 30 years.

There exists a chance that something you can call WW3 would happen during those events, as humanity is prone to engaging in hostilities to try and get resources for themselves, and the collapse in question will most likely be triggered by a global famine (having stable climate is fairly important for civilization).

Aside from that, MAYBE if Putin is in fact as stupid and senile as people joke (not saying he isn't), then there is a chance he goes terminally stupid and actually starts something with a nuke.

Our banking system just narrowly avoided a total collapse.

The US military is so completely OP that a literal WW3 is unlikely to happen. The few countries that are even approaching the US in technological and industrial capability are still decades behind in training and experience. The one weakness of the US was a tendency to get mired in nation-building ("losing the peace"), but Afghanistan has shown that simply abandoning countries can be a viable alternative (for the US; it obviously sucks for the locals).

tankboy posted...

The one weakness of the US was a tendency to get mired in nation-building ("losing the peace")

I think the real weakness of the US was lacking both a clear understanding and policy on how to put a country back together again after having taken it apart, not that it tried to do so.

The slide of Afghanistan into chaos after the Soviets finally cut their losses and ran had consequences that sucked for thousands of Americans in September 2001. It proved that malign neglect of what seem to be reassuringly distant backwaters that rarely rate a glimpse on a TV screen can come back to bite you badly on the ass. Uncle Sam wanted the Russian bear out of Afghanistan and once that was accomplished, dusted off his hands, turned around and walked away because as far as he was concerned, that was the end of the story and what happened to the Afghans themselves afterwards didn't matter. But history decided otherwise.

SpawnShadow posted...

Hell, if anything, WWIII happening and going nuclear might just be a mercy compared to having to spend the rest of one's (probably now-quite-short in my case, and for many, many others as well) life in a dystopian, totalitarian regime that'll make the works of Orwell and Atwood look like Dr. Seuss by sheer comparison.

I always laugh when peope on here say this shit. There's exaggeration and then there's whatever this is.