The Polaris Line

The intricacies of modern weapons are known only to those persons who possess both expertise and full information—and possibly not even to that small band, for no one is really acquainted with all the facts; and no one knows how the weapons would actually perform in a combat for which there is no precedent. So it is pointless for an outsider to argue about the technical merits of this missile, plane, submarine or warhead as against that.

It does not follow that the lay citizen must forgo judgment concerning the great issues of strategy and policy. These issues—despite the pretensions of the guild of Q-cleared experts—are never mere derivatives of complicated technical facts. The main lines of policy and high strategy are always fairly straight; the alternatives are simple. That is why choosing is so difficult, as in all matters that are profound and simple.

JB

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James Burnham

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The intricacies of modern weapons are known only to those persons who possess both expertise and full information—and possibly not even to that small band, for no one is really acquainted with all the facts; and no one knows how the weapons would actually perform in a combat for which there is no precedent. So it is pointless for an outsider to argue about the technical merits of this missile, plane, submarine or warhead as against that.

It does not follow that the lay citizen must forgo judgment concerning the great issues of strategy and policy. These issues—despite the pretensions of the guild of Q-cleared experts—are never mere derivatives of complicated technical facts. The main lines of policy and high strategy are always fairly straight; the alternatives are simple. That is why choosing is so difficult, as in all matters that are profound and simple.